Uber Taxi driver attacked, car torched as business rivalry escalates

Uber Taxi driver attacked, car torched as business rivalry escalates

Police in Nairobi are investigating a case in which a gang of four men attacked a Uber Taxi driver on Kirichwa Road and set his car ablaze.

According to Nairobi County Commander Japheth Koome, police are now looking for four people suspected to have carried out the attack.

While addressing the media, Koome warned against destruction of property, harassment, and causing harm to other taxi drivers, asserting that legal action will be taken against those found culpable.

The driver was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment while his car was towed to the Kilimani Police Station.

The incident is said to have occurred after the taxi driver dropped a passenger on Kirichwa Road in Nairobi’s Kilimani Area and comes as the online taxi service continues to face opposition from the traditional taxi operators.

Early this month, two people were arrested for allegedly attacking a taxi operator in Nairobi with the Interior Ministry launching investigations into attacks targeting drivers affiliated to the Uber Taxi company.

According to the police, a gang smashed the rear window of an Uber Taxi in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa area in an incident similar to several others reported in recent weeks.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry “sent a strong word of caution to those behind the attacks saying it would ensure those behind the attacks face the full wrath of the law.”

The Ministry said business rivalry should not be settled through attacks by criminal gangs.

The Kenya Association of Taxi and Cabs had raised concerns over the entry of Uber taxi, which using a mobile app, are offering fares less than half the price charged by conventional taxis, a situation that has not settled in well with traditional taxi operators.

Cab drivers then threatened to paralyze transport in the country, as they protested their saying it was robbing them of business opportunities.

The attacks have added Nairobi to the list of over 300 cities where Uber has ‘disrupted’ the taxi business with fares as low as 90 shillings a kilometer, almost less the price charged by ordinary taxis.

Tags:

uber Kileleshwa Attacks Nairobi County Commander Japhet Koome row Kenya Association of Taxi and Cabs Kirichwa road taxi drivers

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