Protesting French taxi drivers block the traffic on the Paris ring road during a national protest against Uber, in Paris in June 2015. (Photo : REUTERS)
Car-ride booking application Uber is encountering problems and its operations have been disrupted in some countries, but despite that the company may reap greater rewards in the end as technology and innovation will eventually prevail, according to an article by George N. Tzogopoulos, a lecturer at the European Institute in Nice, France.
In France, traditional taxi drivers reacted against Uber's service, which resulted in violent demonstrations involving 3,000 taxi drivers. The incident had prompted French President Francois Hollande to intervene in order to maintain and preserve public order.
As a result, Uber representatives decided to temporarily suspend its operations as the French Constitutional Court is set to issue its final decision in September on the legality of Uber's operation in France.
Among the complaints, taxi drivers in France are protesting that the government is not requiring their Uber colleagues to pay for driving licenses.
The article, however, said that Uber application is also causing problems in Brazil, India, Germany, and Spain and other countries, all about similar issues.
According to the article, a German court decided to impose a fine of 250,000 euros ($264,825) on Uber for each violation of the National Transport Law. Similarly, a Spanish court has ordered Uber to halt its operation in Spain.
Tzogopoulos, however, said that Uber is likely to win the game in the long run, as more people will soon become more familiar with new technologies and smartphones and it will become a habit for people to use applications such as Uber in their daily life.
According to Tzogopoulos, Uber has to yet to resolve important issues first before it can possibly replace the services of traditional taxis. This includes issues related to insurance and safety. Uber also needs to clarify the taxation issues.
The lecturer said that these issues have to be resolved first, but eventually people will not be able to prevent the changes and innovation in the long run.
