Over 8000 taxi drivers have brought central London to a standstill to protest against unfair competition from Uber.
Uber executives have said that competition could lead to service improvements and a better experience for passengers.
Unions have said that protest is demanding tougher action against companies like Uber when it comes to following standard regulations.
A spokesperson for the union said: ‘The choice is simple. If London wants its highly regulated, safe and on demand gold standard taxis, there needs to be a clear understanding that we aren’t supported by the taxpayer or charities.
‘Government must not allow private hire operators to ignore the legislation. The taxi trade cannot survive with unfair competition.’
Unite, which represents many of the London’s 25,000 black cab drivers, is taking part in the demonstration.
‘We feel that Uber exploits its drivers by using their self-employed status to extract maximum income from them which translates to those drivers working long hours.”
A driver for 29 years he said there are 600 new licence applications for Uber each week, with just 10 people passing the knowledge test in that same time-frame.
