Budapest taxi drivers end 6th anti-Uber demo

Budapest, May 17 (MTI) – Budapest taxi drivers on Tuesday afternoon ended the demonstration they began in the morning against ride-hailing service Uber.

The drivers blocked traffic in two lanes out of six on Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd) with a demand that Uber be banned and regulations enforced.

This is the sixth time Budapest taxi drivers have mounted a demonstration against Uber since January.

In the meantime, lawmakers are holding a debate in parliament about a government sponsored bill that seeks to ban Uber.

The opposition Socialists on Tuesday said they refused to support the bill and they called for Uber to be regulated properly and safely.

The leftist Democratic Coalition (DK) called for new and fair regulations to be introduced, arguing that overregulated taxi services operating at centrally fixed fees cannot compete with “unregulated” community-based services such as Uber.

Green opposition LMP proposed that centrally-regulated taxi fares should be scrapped. Speaking at a press conference, Spokesman József Gál called on Uber and government representatives to come up with a bill that could ensure that Uber pays taxes in Hungary.

The opposition Együtt (Together) party said Uber should be allowed to operate and it should be up to citizens to decide which service they want to use.

The Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party called the government’s proposal to ban Uber “incredibly stupid”. Board member Richard Barabas told a press conference that taxi drivers were demonstrating against a new technology when “the real problem” was a decree passed by the Budapest city council that he said prevented taxi companies from being competitive against Uber. He said the government should oblige Uber to conduct its business in Hungary through a local subsidiary and pay its taxes here, as well.

The Liberals suggested the government should hold talks with Budapest taxi drivers and Uber with a view to ensuring that Uber operates legally in the future.