Taxi drivers in Islamabad held a protest against the impact of online cab services on their livelihood on Sunday.
Conventional cab drivers participating in the protest claimed that their income is being affected due to the growing number of private taxi service providers and called for the number of vehicles in the fleets of web-based services — like Careem and Uber — to be curtailed.
The protesters, comprising 50 to 60 taxis backed by the Taxi Drivers Association, took to the streets at Faizabad Interchange at 10am and are expected to end their rally at Bani Gala.
The protest briefly turned violent at Rawal Chowk, when taxi drivers smashed the windows of vehicles belonging to two private cab companies.
Similar protests have been held in other parts of the country by conventional taxi and rickshaw drivers who allege that private cab companies have affected their livelihood.
Earlier this year, Punjab's Transport Authority declared that private cab companies, such as Careem and Uber, were operating "without registering the private cars with any regulatory body" and therefore, must be banned.
A similar announcement was made by Sindh Transport Secretary Taha Farooqi. The decision, however, was later withdrawn.
