Chch cabbies strike over Uber laws

HUNDREDS of Christchurch taxi drivers will go on strike tomorrow protesting law changes they say favour rideshare companies like Uber.

Jaspinder Singh, a taxi driver who helped organise the protest, which starts at 6am and is due to last 12 hours, said he didn’t know how many drivers would walk off the job, but hoped it would be about half of all those in the city. Christchurch has 700-800 taxi drivers, he said.

The strike is in protest against amendments to the Land Transport Act, passed into law this week. They include axing compulsory in-vehicle cameras and driver panic alarms, signage requirements [including fare information] and the need to belong to an approved taxi organisation.

They also eased rules around P endorsements, which Uber has campaigned for. ‘‘These kind of things should be reviewed by the Government,’’ Singh said.

‘‘That’s why we decided it’s not a level playing field. It’s only for the Uber. A level playing field should be Uber [having] to have signage, [having] to have a Braille sign, [having] to have cameras in the car.

‘‘If you see a taxi with a top sign, a door sign, [you know] this is a taxi. But with Uber, how do you know this?’’

The New Zealand Taxi Federation has long opposed the law changes, saying they were written to suit the rideshare business model.