Clearly the showdown between taxi drivers and Uber has reached a point where tempers will flare in public. We saw them interrupt an interview with Uber’s CEO on the premiere week of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and now this video has surfaced out of Ottawa. What we see is a taxi driver confronting an Uber driver as he attempts to take a customer, leading to a fairly tense standoff between the driver and the passenger. The Uber driver is actually pretty calm considering the guy tells him he’s “dead meat” if he catches him driving again.
This is the most recent showing of an ongoing battle between taxi drivers and Uber, particularly in Ottawa where taxis are filming Uber drivers while undercover and battling with rising fees and lower fares. According to the Ottawa Sun, Mayor Jim Watson claims they might be doing themselves more harm than good:
Stop shooting yourself in the foot,” Watson said Wednesday, speaking to reporters a day after he told city staff to get a report on the future of the city’s taxi industry done by year’s end, three months earlier than planned.
The mayor repeated his call to quit using tactics like filming an “undercover” video of an Uber driver, their “slow roll” protest on Airport Pkwy. and the horn-honking at the airport.
“You’re not winning friends. You’re actually pushing people over to Uber, which is exactly the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Watson said.
The video above isn’t really doing the cabbies any favors either, especially when you’re calling potential customers “cheapskates” for taking Uber. Is this the same outlook on folks who walk, take the bus, or ask for a ride with a friend? They could easily take a taxi, right? Bunch of cheapskates.
(Via Ottawa Sun / YouTube)