Taxi drivers to petition Akufo-Addo over Uber operations

The Commercial Taxi Drivers Association say its members will petition president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take a second look at the activities of Uber transportation service in the country. They contend that the Uber service does not follow the rules and regulations governing the road traffic Act 204 LI2180, Regulation 130; something it said was unfair to their memebrs. READ: Uber committing ‘illegality’ with private cars – taxi drivers claim According to the association, thought it has reported what members described as an illegal transportation service rendered by Uber to deputy minister of transport Titus Glover, no action has been taken. The minister insists on going to parliament to amend the road traffic regulation to suit other interests. The association warned taxi drivers in the country are ready to rebrand their cars private vehicles in order to avoid levies they pay as commercial drivers.The ride-hailing firm argued it was an information society service – helping people to make contact with each other electronically – and not a cab firm but the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled otherwise in December last year. The case was prompted by a directive to obey local taxi rules in Barcelona, Spain. READ: Uber is officially a cab firm – court rules In its ruling, the ECJ said that a service whose purpose was “to connect, by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration, non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys” must be classified as “a service in the field of transport” in EU law, BBC reported. By 3news.com|Ghana]]>