Indonesian drivers stage violent anti-Uber protest

epa05210428 Taxi drivers stand beside their vehicles during mass stikes in Jakarta, Indonesia, 14 March 2016. More than a thousand taxi and others public transportation drivers in Jakarta held a mass strike against transportation-based online application including car-booking applications Uber and GrabTaxi. EPA/ADI WEDA

JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesian taxi drivers staged a violent protest against Uber and other ride-hailing services, blocking major roads in the capital, clashing with drivers from app-based rivals and setting tyres alight. 

The protesters, who also included motorised rickshaw and bus drivers, adorned their vehicles with signs saying “stop illegal taxis” and rallied in front of parliament and the communications ministry, in an upsurge of anger at apps that the drivers say are threatening their livelihoods.