The demonstration is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. today, during which time taxis will drive from Hősök tere to Kossuth tér in front of the Hungarian Parliament building.

Taxi drivers are planning to partially close the main arteries of the capital, and this is likely to result in major traffic jams.

Géza Gottlieb, one organizer of the demonstration, told Hungarian online daily hvg.hu that taxi drivers are unsatisfied with government measures against “illegal” ride-sharing services. He added that those who offer such services feel safe because they see that the government is “unable to do anything agains Uber either”, hvg.hu reported.

The Lánchíd (bridge) was blocked by demonstrating taxi drivers on April 26 in a protest against ride-sharing services in the capital for reasons similar to todayʼs demonstration.

That same day, shortly after taxi drivers started their protest, Uber, the biggest ride-sharing service in Budapest, sent a mass email to its users offering a 50% discount on all rides. The email suggested that using Uber would help people get around traffic jams caused by the protest.

By Christian Keszthelyi

Source: BBJ

Republished with permission

MTI photo: Balogh Zoltán