MEXICO CITY, May 26 (UPI) -- Hundreds of taxi drivers blocked streets throughout Mexico City on Monday to protest the popular service Uber, to which the company responded by offering free trips for the day to its users.
The Association of Organized Taxi Drivers protested against Uber, its smaller counterpart Cabify and unlicensed taxi drivers, arguing the services operate illegally in Mexico City and should be regulated and governed under the same requirements applied to public transport.
"It's obvious that there is open protection of Uber, Cabify and the other 30,000 pirate [taxis] by the Mexico City government," the taxi organization said in a statement.
Uber users were able to ride for free until 9:59 p.m. -- allowed to go on two trips costing up to about $10 without charge. Uber's minimum trip price in Mexico City is about $2.65.
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"Uber came to Mexico to make life easier for chilangos [Mexico City residents] precisely because they know they will not stop. So today is complicated to move so we decided to give away Uber travel to all our users, because if Mexico doesn't stop, Uber doesn't stop," the company said in a statement.
Hoy tuvimos una increíble demanda de viajes. ¡Gracias por todo el apoyo! Nuestro compromiso está contigo y con nuestra Ciudad #UberLove #DF
— Uber DF (@Uber_DF) May 26, 2015"Today we had an amazing travel demand. Thanks for all the support! Our commitment is with you and with our city," a tweet by Uber's Mexico City account read. Uber has more than 300,000 registered users in Mexico City.
