With fast smartphones and cheap wireless internet, more and more people are discovering the online world will allow them greater liberties than ever before. A recently launched app called Uber allows you to request a ride from a nearby motorist at the push of a button. It's available in over 100 cities from 30 countries and offer its user a the option to chose the most competitive price, making normal taxi services increasingly obsolete.
And guess what: the taxi drivers aren't too happy with this new-found sense of freedom created by the free app. Motorists faced huge delays in central London today, June 12th, as cabbies protested over Uber and other apps like it.
Similar strikes were reported in other major cities like Paris, Madrid, Rome and Berlin. Uber allows people to go online and find a nearby driver who will give them a ride for a smaller amount of money. But some taxi drivers can pay tens of thousands of euros on a car and licenses and some of them are being put out of business.
Transport for London, a local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, says Uber doesn't break the law because there's no fizical connection between the app and the car, as opposed to a taxi meter.
Outraged, some taxi drivers have claimed that the app is organized robbery, since the it allows people to bypass any regulations. But last week the company that made it was valued at $18 billion as it secured $1.2 billion in funding. Uber Technologies, which is based in California, announced that its signups surged 850% on Wednesday (June 11th), which might show that some people have just heard about the app for the first time due to taxi drivers' protests and saw something they liked, a free app that gives them access to competitive prices.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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