Over 1,500 taxi drivers gathered at Leinster House on 23 November and drove in slow convoys through Dublin.
Drivers protested Uber’s fixed price model that Uber introduced at the beginning of November.
The model calculates upfront fares through an algorithm based on route, traffic, weather and time of day.
Around a third of Ireland’s 17,400 licensed taxi drivers use Uber but many switched off the app over the past two weeks.
The National Transport Authority permits fares below the maximum but requires taxis to operate on meters.
National Private Hire and Taxi Association spokesman Jim Waldron shared “Uber is basically trying to interfere with that fare process and in our opinion and in drivers’ opinion, create a culture of fixed fares.”
Taxi driver and protest co-ordinator David Mitchell shared “Uber’s announcement has unified the community in a way that has never been seen before.”
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett shared “Uber can get away with this fixed fare; they are essentially undermining the meter.”
Transport Economist at University College Dublin Dr Ciarán Mac Domhnaill shared “It is perhaps time for a discussion over what we want from the taxi industry and how can we use public policy in order to set that.”
Uber shared in a written statement “Potential passengers are much more likely to book a trip if they know what the fare is going to be.”
