Uber Facing Ban In Turkey After Erdogan Backs Taxis (sbs.com.au)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from SBS: Uber faces being banned in Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ride-hailing app was "finished" on Saturday following an intense lobbying campaign from Istanbul taxi drivers. Erdogan's comments, in a late-night speech Friday in Istanbul, came after the government agreed new rules that are expected to severely complicate Uber's operations in Turkey. Drivers of Istanbul's yellow taxis have over the last months waged an intense campaign to have Uber banned, saying the company is eating into their business without having a proper legal basis for work. "This thing emerged called Uber or Muber or whatever," said Erdogan. "But this issue is now finished. It's over now. Our Prime Minister (Minali Yildirim) made the announcement. We have our system of taxis," he said.

"Yildirim's government last month issue a directive sharply hiking fines and threatened to blacklist companies whose vehicles illegally work as taxis," reports SBS.

Comments

Re:This makes no sense

[satsuke]

Uber charges passengers and pays drivers based on time and distance. The only modifier to a standard cab fare is the surge rate that acts as a multiplier on the fare.

So yes, they act exactly as a cab company in most respects save the "for hire" status that a licensed taxi can provide.

I'm supposed to be outraged?

[Ranger]

Uber is a predatory company. They took a great idea and turned it to shit. Uber gets no sympathy from me. Erdogan is far worse. He created a fake coup and led a countercoup to cement power, arresting thousands, firing thousands. He is a despot.