People entering Brussels via car on Thursday morning should expect the journey to take longer than usual, as around 20 taxis block the Boulevard Charles Quint near the Chaussée de Gand.
“Once again, taxis are on the streets to demand respect for the laws in the Brussels-Capital Region!” tweeted Sam Bouchal, spokesperson for the Belgian taxi federation FeBeT.
The planned protest will continue all morning as drivers demonstrate against the influx of Uber drivers, who compete with the sector while falling outside the strict regulations that traditional taxi drivers are bound to.
Taxis continue to join the protest, Bruzz reports, and drivers are headed next to Brussels South via the inner ring road. The Leopold II tunnel towards Midi is closed as a result of the demonstration, according to Info-Traffic Brussels Mobility.
? Suite à la #manifestation, le tunnel Léopold II direction Midi est fermé à la circulation. #TunnelBru
— Info-trafic Bruxelles Mobilité (@MobirisFr) January 20, 2022
While Brussels recently limited the number of Uber drivers who are allowed to operate in the city, traditional taxi drivers say that workers using the American tech company’s platform are flooding in from Wallonia and Flanders.
Une fois de plus les taxis sont dans rue pour demander le respect des lois en région de Bruxelles Capitale ! pic.twitter.com/y3F2WnqRu1
— Sam Bouchal (@SamBouchal) January 20, 2022
The taxi sector wants checks done in order to ensure the legislation is being followed.
This article was updated at 9:23.
