Vehicles damaged, physical assaults… As the taxi strike continues against the new conditions of medical transport and the competition from VTCs, some drivers are being targeted on the sidelines of the protests. Drivers lament a «war» that «contributes to platforms» like Uber.
Filtering barrier at the entrance of Roissy airport and blocking of Boulevard Raspail: for the fourth consecutive day, hundreds of taxis protested in Paris on Thursday against the new pricing of medical transport decided by the Health Insurance. Beyond the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), the mobilization also targets the competition from chauffeured transport vehicles (VTC), which often work through platforms like Uber, Bolt, or Heetch.
The taxi strike is accompanied by tensions with the police but also with VTC drivers. «Over the past five days, five VTC drivers […] have been threatened with a taser, a firearm, or even beaten up,» warned Laureline Serieys, General Manager of Uber France, on franceinfo on Thursday, citing violence on the sidelines of protests «in cities like Paris, Grenoble, Rennes, or Marseille«.
By throwing eggs or breaking cars, what will the taxis achieve?
Nadir Kahoul, Parisian VTC driver
On Tuesday, in Marseille, a VTC driver, targeted by egg-throwing, also drove into taxi drivers, injuring two of them. The General Manager of Uber France «calls on the Ministry of Transport to put an end to this violence and these repeated acts«, hoping for a «de-escalation«. Meanwhile, the ministry has proposed enhanced control of VTCs «against fraud targeting illegal activity, marauding, and illegal solicitation«.
«By throwing eggs or breaking cars, what will the taxis achieve? We need to be a little more professional,» reacts Nadir Kahoul, a VTC driver in Paris for six years. «When we protested against the platforms, we never broke anything, we even had coffee with the riot police,» he says.
The 57-year-old driver, however, says «he supports the taxis«. «Many VTCs do not follow the rules and drive without a permit. It is the platforms that benefit from this. Personally, I have nothing to hide, I declare everything. But by declaring, some trips are not profitable. By fixing rates, platforms indirectly encourage some to not declare. VTCs are losers in this story,» he regrets, calling instead to «control the platforms«.
«Why attack VTCs? We should not be scapegoats,» questions Karim Daoud, president of the VTC Association of France. «Taxis mainly have a problem with Health Insurance. Leave us alone. None of this concerns us. I don’t see what VTCs have to do with it, everyone does their job, our activities are complementary. They have advantages that we don’t,» responds this Parisian driver, who «has been working in transportation for 25 years«.
Taxis should help us, instead of attacking VTCs
Karim Daoud, president of VTC of France
«Some taxis are encroaching on the VTC market by signing up on platforms, he continues. However, we have neither protested, nor broken any cars, nor burned any trash cans. We don’t lump everyone together. When we become direct competitors, this war between taxis and VTCs benefits the platforms.«
The president of VTC of France calls for the implementation of a «numerical cap» to limit the number of authorized drivers. «We need regulation. Once again, the continuous increase in the number of drivers mainly benefits the platforms. The waiting time decreases, it suits them. Not necessarily us, the market is becoming more restricted. Taxis should help us, instead of attacking VTCs. «C’est dommage pour leur image«, estime Karim Daoud.
Karim Daoud estime que c’est dommage pour leur image. Le marché des taxis est de plus en plus restreint, et il est important que les taxis nous soutiennent plutôt que d’agresser les VTC. Cela nuit à leur image, selon Karim Daoud.
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