Uber Just Came to Buenos Aires and It's Causing a Sh*tstorm

It looks like he was not bullshitting.

La civilización contra la barbarie. #Uber vs. #taxis pic.twitter.com/OnUWZR0AJz

— Andres Chomczyk (@achomczyk) April 12, 2016

As soon as Uber began to pick up its first passengers yesterday, local taxi drivers blockaded major roads across the city, focusing on the busy neighborhoods of Retiro, Caballito and Recoleta as well as the area around the Aeroparque airport.

In an interview, the City of Buenos Aires’ Transportation Secretary Juan José Méndez stated that Uber is considered illegal and that Uber vehicles “will be towed if found” working for the app. “When the service starts operating we will conduct the necessary regulations, there will be no exceptions and they will be treated like an illegal mode of transportation,” he explained. “[The vehicles] will not be confiscated, but towed, as in the case with DUIs. Tow companies will take vehicles until owner present themselves [at the impound],” said Méndez.

Individual taxi drivers have been less than subtle in expressing how they feel about Uber coming to town. A few weeks ago, Uber drivers were being trained in a hotel and taxi drivers gathered to throw stones at the building. Because that’s mature.

Los tacheros protestan contra #Uber en Av.Angel Gallardo y Honorio Pueyrredón. https://t.co/h69QZjJlfA

— VillaCrespo Noticias (@vc_noticias) April 12, 2016

Here’s hoping they chill out soon and welcome in the 21st century, because the idea of pressing one button and quickly having a car turn up instead of sitting for a half hour for a 152 bus to pass (and that’s assuming it actually stops), or having to forego that last Fernet and Coke to have enough pesos on hand to accommodate the latest taxi rate hike is actually pretty cool.