Report: Uber taxi vandalized in France despite new law favoring traditional cabbies

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Technology

An Uber car transporting execs for app company Eventbrite was attacked during a trip in Paris, indicating that the row between cab drivers and ride-sharing services could be heading to a rather dark place.

The attackers, believed by Uber to be disgruntled cabbies, slashed two of the car’s tires, broke windows and dumped glue on the body. One of the passengers was cut during the incident, although Autoblog‘s sister site, Engadget, reports the Uber driver escaped before before the attackers could get into the car.

We last reported on the battle between ride-sharing apps and traditional cabs two weeks ago, when a change in French law required ride-sharing apps to wait a minimum of 15 minutes after receiving a reservation to pick up their fare. The change in the law was endorsed by cab drivers, who think Uber and other apps have an unfair advantage.

Engadget reports that the law will likely be changed, according to a report in the humorously named Rude Baguette. Apparently, the 15-minute rule was passed by a presidential decree, which is subject to different anti-competition standards.

For its part, Uber condemned the attack in a statement, which you can read below.

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Uber taxi vandalized in France despite new law favoring traditional cabbies originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Jan 2014 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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