Hundreds of taxi drivers across Spain descended upon Barcelona this week to protest the growing use of ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Cabify, The Washington Post reports.
The protest turned violent as taxi drivers began attack the vehicles of ride-hailing drivers, kicking and throwing rocks at them. Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau retweeted a video that shows taxi drivers kicking, attempting to smash the windows, and pulling off the windshield wipers of one Cabify driver's vehicle who had passengers in the car.
Este es el tipo de cosas que no juegan a favor del taxi tras una manifestación pacífica. Dentro de este Cabify había una familia francesa con una niña pic.twitter.com/8nG3sVEQVi
— Carlos Márquez (@cmarquezdaniel) July 25, 2018
Translation: This is the kind of thing that does not play in favor of taxis after a peaceful demonstration. Inside this Cabify was a French family with a little girl
A spokesperson for Unauto VTC, a Spanish association for ride-hailing apps, told the Associated Press that there were dozens of assaults in Barcelona, resulting in two drivers being hospitalized. One of those hospitalized suffered first-degree burns to his face from an acid attack.
As a result of the violence, Uber and Cabify announced yesterday that they were suspending service in the city.
Wednesday's protest was spurred by a recent court ruling that suspended the need for additional ride-hailing app regulations.
STAC, a union for taxi drivers, condemned the attacks on Twitter.
