Warsaw cabbies in go-slow over Uber

Cabbies in the Polish capital of Warsaw have staged a go-slow over the lack of legislation surrounding Uber as well as unlicensed private hire vehicles.

The protest, which took place on Thursday saw hundreds of taxi drivers bringing road speeds across the capital to a crawl, whilst other cabbies staged a protest outside the justice ministry.

VOA News have reported that companies such as Uber and Taxify are circumventing regulatory legislation and as a result constitute unfair competition. 

With around 12,500 licensed taxi drivers and up to 9,000 unlicensed drivers, it is estimated that taxi drivers are losing around 35% of their overall income, according to the leader of the Warsaw Taxi Drivers union, Jaroslaw Iglikowsli.

The furious cabbies, who also handed a petition to the justice minister, claim that Poland is losing in excess of £150 million per annum in  unpaid taxes.

The protest was concluded prior to the afternoon rush hour so as to keep disruption down to a minimum.