India: Uber Driver Gang-Raped by Taxi Drivers
Mumbai | As the protests surrounding Uber are escalating all around the planet as taxi associations are taking the streets in France, Germany and Canada, the violence has reached its peak in India as a dozen of taxi drivers are accused of gang-raping several Uber drivers in Mumbai, reports the Pudhari Times this morning.
President of India’s Taxi Driver Union, Bunpar Gomesh, admits the attacks are not a centralized move but stem form the rage of their members.
“We do not advocate the use of violence to fight against this criminal organization” he explained to reporters regarding the Uber service. “Yet, it seems that gang-rape seems to be the only thing that they understand. All we have tried before has failed”.
Uber users have dropped significantly since a wave of “gang-raping” has occurred on multiple Uber drivers during the past weeks, explains President of India’s Taxi Driver Union, Bunpar Gomesh
“Of course rape is a disgusting thing in a civilized society and should not be encouraged” explains taxi driver for 22 years, Amir Mushan. “But those Uber drivers clearly deserve it” he added.
Indian Ganesha Taxi Cooperative spokesman Jaarat Pharabath Guntar believes the mass rapings are just the beginning.
“To us taxi drivers, Uber drivers are like dirty little prostitutes. They have sold their dignity and their pride, there is no shame in fulfilling your basic needs with such vile people” he told reporters with assurance. “I hope all Uber drivers die from syphilis” shouted another taxi driver nearby, proof of the reality of the tension between the two groups.
If the attacks persist, some experts believe Uber users could decline dramatically and could in fact disappear as a whole. “There has been a net drop in users since the beginning of the sexual aggressions” explains Jamar Pandu, a software engineer and Uber specialist. “If these attacks keep going on, Uber consumers will definitely be scared away” he admits.
Some experts believe Uber consumers have dropped by 64% since the past two weeks, numbers that taxi driver unions across India boast as good news for the future of the taxi industry.