DebConf16/Uber
[edit] Uber for DebConf16 in Capetown South Africa
Both taxis and Uber have worked well for Deb-Camp 2016 participants, but Uber is controversial in South Africa and Capetown at this time.
[edit] Background
Taxi industries both struggle with regulatory laws and support them because they keep peace between transportaton-providers, regionally spreading out services and mediating competition[1]. Taxi's don't like seeing others ignore the regulations completely. The controversy had recently inflamed when Uber received fast-tracked permits for airport access[2], while taxis were on the verge of striking over a combination of slow taxi-permitting and impounding cars for lack of permit.
While it was looking like Uber was flaggrantly ignoring transporation-provider laws, and it looked as though government was not listening to taxi's peaceful protests. Taxis began protesting with direct action. In Capetown for example, they blocked a road and confronted Uber cars [3].
[edit] Recent news
2016-06-30: New talks between SA government and the SA taxi-industry are good news that are calming-down Uber conflict that was beginning to get violent. A few provinces away a Johannesburg taxi-strike is averted by announcement that talks have begun [4].
Uber Capetown[5]