Over 10,000 London taxi drivers are planning a mass protest over a new app which encourages people to become their own taxi service. The London cabbies are planning to meet in June against the app by Uber Technology Inc at a London landmark, which has yet to be decided. Steve McNamara, the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association’s general secretary said cab drivers are against the Uber app because it allows drivers to carry passengers without following the same rules as other services, giving them an unfair advantage. Steve McNamara: The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association's general secretary said the issues over the app are about a good old British sense of fair play . ‘All we’re saying is if you want to come to London and operate the business model you’re operating, you should operate within our laws,’ McNamara told Bloomberg. ‘This is about a good old British sense of fair play. It’s not cricket.’ However, the app looks set to shake up the taxi market as it has given private drivers the ability to charge for rides without the constraints that taxi drivers tend to face. The company was valued at $3.5billion last year after raising cash from Google Inc.’s venture-capital arm and private-equity firm TPG Capital. Threat: Uber's app is marketed as a way for drivers to start their own taxi business . Black cab protest: Cab drivers are against the app by Uber Technology Inc because it allows drivers to carry passengers without following the same rules as other services . Uber is marketed as a way for drivers to start their own businesses by showing profiles of top drivers on its website. The website shows ordinary people like a single mother who used the app to start her own business to make money and a student who used the app to make money on weekends, along with a man who left his job to drive passengers around San Francisco. It wants to show that ordinary drivers can become professional drivers without training, licencses or  prior experience. Uber uses a phone's GPS to detect a location and connects them with the nearest available driver even if they don't know the exact address. When a customer requests a ride, a driver will let them track their location on the map. Uber texts customers when their ride arrives. The driver’s name and car details appear in the app, and they can message or call if they need to. Customers can view rates in their city in the app and enter a pickup and drop-off locations to get a fare quote for the trip. Uber users don't need cash when they ride with Uber. Once they arrive at the destination, the fare is automatically charged to your credit card on file, and they e-mail a receipt. Customers can split the fare with friends. Other apps like Hailo are slightly different to Uber as they recruit taxi drivers. But it has been met with fierce protest in different countries by taxi drivers who are upset that these drivers do not have to pay the same fees, permits or licences that taxi drivers do. In France, French President Francois Hollande attempted to impose a 15-minute pickup delay on Uber and other private car services, which was struck down in February by the constitutional court. Parisian drivers staged their own protest against the app by blocking traffic from airports expressing their frustration that the private taxi drivers do not have to buy a taxi permit that costs more than €200,000. In Berlin, the taxi association said . that Uber hurt competition by violating rules that force limousine . drivers to return to a base after delivering customers. In April, a . court banned taxi services that use the app, though the injunction . wasn’t enforced at the time. Cars in Brussels that use the app will . be subject to a €10,000 ($13,863) fine after a local court ruled . against Uber cars last month. European Commission Vice President Neelie . Kroes called the ban ‘crazy’ and anti-competitive. But Mr McNamara said that London cab drivers like their European counterparts also see the app as  unfair. Crazy: Neelie Kroes European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes called the bans in certain parts of the EU 'crazy' and anti-competitive . ‘For me to persuade 10,000 guys to take a day off work shows you the strength of feeling,’ he said. ‘They’re not a commercial threat to us. It’s a sense of fair play.’ The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association represents almost half of London’s 24,000 cabbies who drive the city’s black taxis. Another sticking point over the app is that private hire vehicles, such as Uber’s cars, aren’t allowed to have meters because they’re pre-booked and can quote a fare in advance. The rule is meant to prevent companies from charging different amounts or surprising a passenger with an unexpected charge, he said. However, the Uber app does have a built in meter. McNamara added: ‘Uber drivers also don’t always have an operators’ license, which means that they aren’t supposed to take customers’ bookings themselves.' A spokesman for Uber said: ‘Uber is pro rider and pro driver -- we are all about keeping London moving with our innovative app at great prices.’ The San Francisco based app has fought back against the backlash from cab drivers saying that it has all of the licenses needed for private hire cars in London. Uber said it already provides a $1million commercial policy during trips and $1million of coverage for . uninsured and under insured motorists. The firm said that it is abiding by Transport for London’s rules and Transport for London said in a statement that Uber is eligible for a licence. But Uber is facing a growing barrage of criticism at home. Commissioner Dave Jones of the California Department of Insurance said in a statement last month that the app was ‘encouraging non-professional drivers to use their personal vehicles to drive passengers for a profit, a risk which personal automobile insurance simply does not cover.’
London cab drivers plan to boycott an app by Uber Technolgies Inc.
The app gives private drivers the ability to charge for rides - but they escape having to pay stiff fees for licences and permits .
Over 10,000 cabbies are expected to take part in the boycott in June .
Taxi drivers in Paris have already taken to the streets against the app .
Over 10,000 London taxi drivers are planning a mass protest over a new app which encourages people to become their own taxi service. The London cabbies are planning to meet in June against the app by Uber Technology Inc at a London landmark, which has yet to be decided. Steve McNamara, the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association’s general secretary said cab drivers are against the Uber app because it allows drivers to carry passengers without following the same rules as other services, giving them an unfair advantage. Steve McNamara: The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association's general secretary said the issues over the app are about a good old British sense of fair play . ‘All we’re saying is if you want to come to London and operate the business model you’re operating, you should operate within our laws,’ McNamara told Bloomberg. ‘This is about a good old British sense of fair play. It’s not cricket.’ However, the app looks set to shake up the taxi market as it has given private drivers the ability to charge for rides without the constraints that taxi drivers tend to face. The company was valued at $3.5billion last year after raising cash from Google Inc.’s venture-capital arm and private-equity firm TPG Capital. Threat: Uber's app is marketed as a way for drivers to start their own taxi business . Black cab protest: Cab drivers are against the app by Uber Technology Inc because it allows drivers to carry passengers without following the same rules as other services . Uber is marketed as a way for drivers to start their own businesses by showing profiles of top drivers on its website. The website shows ordinary people like a single mother who used the app to start her own business to make money and a student who used the app to make money on weekends, along with a man who left his job to drive passengers around San Francisco. It wants to show that ordinary drivers can become professional drivers without training, licencses or  prior experience. Uber uses a phone's GPS to detect a location and connects them with the nearest available driver even if they don't know the exact address. When a customer requests a ride, a driver will let them track their location on the map. Uber texts customers when their ride arrives. The driver’s name and car details appear in the app, and they can message or call if they need to. Customers can view rates in their city in the app and enter a pickup and drop-off locations to get a fare quote for the trip. Uber users don't need cash when they ride with Uber. Once they arrive at the destination, the fare is automatically charged to your credit card on file, and they e-mail a receipt. Customers can split the fare with friends. Other apps like Hailo are slightly different to Uber as they recruit taxi drivers. But it has been met with fierce protest in different countries by taxi drivers who are upset that these drivers do not have to pay the same fees, permits or licences that taxi drivers do. In France, French President Francois Hollande attempted to impose a 15-minute pickup delay on Uber and other private car services, which was struck down in February by the constitutional court. Parisian drivers staged their own protest against the app by blocking traffic from airports expressing their frustration that the private taxi drivers do not have to buy a taxi permit that costs more than €200,000. In Berlin, the taxi association said . that Uber hurt competition by violating rules that force limousine . drivers to return to a base after delivering customers. In April, a . court banned taxi services that use the app, though the injunction . wasn’t enforced at the time. Cars in Brussels that use the app will . be subject to a €10,000 ($13,863) fine after a local court ruled . against Uber cars last month. European Commission Vice President Neelie . Kroes called the ban ‘crazy’ and anti-competitive. But Mr McNamara said that London cab drivers like their European counterparts also see the app as unfair. Crazy: Neelie Kroes European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes called the bans in certain parts of the EU 'crazy' and anti-competitive . ‘For me to persuade 10,000 guys to take a day off work shows you the strength of feeling,’ he said. ‘They’re not a commercial threat to us. It’s a sense of fair play.’ The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association represents almost half of London’s 24,000 cabbies who drive the city’s black taxis. Another sticking point over the app is that private hire vehicles, such as Uber’s cars, aren’t allowed to have meters because they’re pre-booked and can quote a fare in advance. The rule is meant to prevent companies from charging different amounts or surprising a passenger with an unexpected charge, he said. However, the Uber app does have a built in meter. McNamara added: ‘Uber drivers also don’t always have an operators’ license, which means that they aren’t supposed to take customers’ bookings themselves.' A spokesman for Uber said: ‘Uber is pro rider and pro driver -- we are all about keeping London moving with our innovative app at great prices.’ The San Francisco based app has fought back against the backlash from cab drivers saying that it has all of the licenses needed for private hire cars in London. Uber said it already provides a $1million commercial policy during trips and $1million of coverage for . uninsured and under insured motorists. The firm said that it is abiding by Transport for London’s rules and Transport for London said in a statement that Uber is eligible for a licence. But Uber is facing a growing barrage of criticism at home. Commissioner Dave Jones of the California Department of Insurance said in a statement last month that the app was ‘encouraging non-professional drivers to use their personal vehicles to drive passengers for a profit, a risk which personal automobile insurance simply does not cover.’
Over 10,000 London taxi drivers are planning a London cabbies are planning to meet in June against the app by Uber Technology Inc at a it has given private drivers the ability to charge for rides without the constraints that have to pay the same fees, permits or licences Mr McNamara said that London cab drivers like which means that they aren’t supposed to take