In Savoie, tension is mounting between cabs and drivers registered on online platforms like Uber. Between threats, provocation and armed confrontation, Moutiers’ transport professionals are waging a “turf war” to corner the lucrative market for transporting tourists to ski resorts.
Two rival gangs clash, violently inveighing against each other. The scene is reminiscent of an altercation between rival gangs at a deal point. But it took place on the station forecourt in Moutiers, a small Savoyard town of 3,400 inhabitants.
In a video shot on the evening of Wednesday, January 22, a cab driver in a black parka fires rubber bullets from a handgun to“protect himself” he says, after an altercation with Uber drivers.
According to cab and VTC (chauffeur-driven tourism vehicle) drivers, who have become allies, these tensions have become a daily occurrence with their competitors working via American platforms such as Uber, Bolt or Heetch.
The latter are accused of illegally“soliciting” customers, sometimes demanding“double the price advertised on the platform in cash”. “It’s the Wild West!” worries the President of the Savoie Taxi Association. The Tarentaise region accounts for 24 million overnight tourist stays, so this attracts a lot of interest, and the work is taken by opportunists. Tension is mounting, because the state is not enforcing the law.”.
Around the station, some drivers working with platforms are said to be on the prowl, using “rabatteurs” to pick up customers directly. Illegal practices.
