Days after he announced "an end to that Uber issue," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his opposition to the popular ride-hailing app, which he described as "a plot against our taxi drivers."
Speaking in a televised interview on Wednesday night, he said that it was important to not have taxi drivers fall victim to Uber's policies. "The current taxi system is functioning well. We cannot let Uber continue in our country and we cannot let our drivers suffer," he said.
The president also noted that the "boss" of Uber requested a meeting earlier but he turned him down, though he did not mention whether it was the ride-hailing platform's CEO or its Turkish representative.
Uber faces a lawsuit from taxi drivers in Istanbul and authorities have pledged a stricter ban on the app, although its drivers and passengers are currently subject to fines. Taxi operators are seeking an access ban for the app, claiming it hurts their business.
