Ecuador Taxi Drivers, Cooperatives Protest Against Cabify, Uber

Local taxi drivers in the Andean capital of Ecuador, Quito, marched to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, located in the heart of the city, to demand that corporations running informal taxi services, like Uber and Cabify, stop operations effective immediately as they are adversely affecting the local drivers' businesses. 

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According to the official taxi cooperative, local taxi businesses have seen a reduction in ridership of at least 40 percent.   

Carlos Brunis, president of the Union of Cooperatives de Taxis de Pichincha, told El Commercio, the Ecuadorean daily, that the demonstration aims to bring to light the concerns of local taxi drivers. 

"We want a response from the authorities," Brunis said. 

Carlos Mantilla, a member of the Royal Audiencia Cooperative of Quito, said, according to El Commercio, "We used to make about USD 30 a day, but now if we make 20 it's enough and that's not enough for anything."