Polish taxi drivers protest against "illegal carriers"

Hundreds of taxi drivers took part in a protest held in Warsaw on Monday, citing the problem of illegal carriers.

Polish Press Agency reported that the exact number of taxis taking part in the protest varies from 2000 to even 5000, according to the estimates of Taxi Drivers' Association.

The Association claimed that the protest is aimed at drawing the government's attention to the problem of illegal carriers, such as Uber, whose drivers, unlike the professional taxi drivers, do not obey the duty of cash register, technical and psychological examination and license possession.

The protest began in the morning when several taxi columns set off from five different locations, heading for same direction -- the center of Warsaw.

Upon the arrival, the drivers prepared to file a petition with their demands in the Chancellery of Prime Minister, Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction, Ministry of Finance and the provincial governor's office.

Taxi drivers from Warsaw, Poznan, Lodz and Wroclaw jointly organized the protest in Warsaw. Meanwhile, similar protests were held in several Polish towns.

According to Polish Press Agency, Minister of Infrastructure and Construction Andrzej Adamczyk said that equal rules should be applied to all operators of passenger car transport, adding that the government's draft law regulating this issue would be given to the government this week.

Uber Poland, on the other hand, issued a statement before the protest, saying that the urban mobility has changed worldwide and that there was a place for both ways of transport to coexist.

The protest on Monday morning overlapped with the morning traffic peak, causing even worse traffic jams.