Hundreds of cab drivers blocked downtown traffic and blared their vehicles’ horns Wednesday afternoon to protest proposed legislation they say unfairly regulates services like Uber and Lyft.
“Give us justice!” drivers holding a Teamsters banner shouted as police initially stopped vehicles at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Cab drivers were eventually allowed to continue toward Freedom Plaza and the Wilson Building, where most of the anger was directed.
“We’re not against Uber … We welcome their business. All we ask … is that they follow the rules,” said Joseph Ghaffari, a Ward 3 resident who has been driving a cab for more than 20 years. “They don’t follow the rules.” He praised D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Ron Linton’s attempts to modernize the cab industry — including a proposed e-hailing app — but said that the Council — most pointedly Ward 3’s Mary Cheh — has promoted unfair regulations for Uber and similar services.
“If Uber registered in D.C., it would be more for D.C., more money for the Council, more money for the Cab Commission,” he said.
Ghaffari said drivers have attempted to get the Council’s attention through letters, but a public protest like the one conducted in June and the one today is the only way to get the members’ attention.
“As long as Uber doesn’t follow the rules, doesn’t register with the Taxicab Commission, the city is going to see this kind of protest many, many times,” he said. “Right is right. Wrong is wrong.”
Legislation proposed by Cheh would require services like Uber and Lyft to conduct background checks and require insurance for their drivers. But cabbies like Ghaffari want to see these services be subject to the same regulations taxis must comply with.
At least one driver was handcuffed and placed in a police car after he exited his vehicle and refused to get back in. Police warned the drivers to stay in their vehicles and continue moving to avoid arrest. The moving, however, was slow going, as drivers waited at red lights while honking their horns, which some cabbies were ticket for.
