More restrictions needed on UberPOP: Amsterdam alderman

Amsterdam wants the Environment and Transport Inspectorate to monitor UberPop drivers more strictly, Het Parool reports. The municipal council is worried about the violent attacks on Uberpop drivers, such as the recent incidents where UberPop drivers were attacked by a group of masked men armed with hammers and brass knuckles.

"I will insist that State Secretary Wilma Mansveld intensifies the enforcement," alderman Pieter Litjens told the municipal council today. "UberPop is banned, but taking the law into your own hands is also not allowed. Violence or the threat thereof is unacceptable." He also believes that taxi organizations are responsible for the behavior of their drivers and will discuss the matter with them shortly.

Litjens will also ask Mansveld, who serves as state secretary for infrastructure and the environment, for a quick evaluation of the Taxi Act, which applies to developments such as UberPop. According to the alderman, innovation is a good thing, but there should be a level playing field. "The same rules should apply to everyone: for UberPop drivers and regular taxi drivers."