The ongoing business rivalry among taxi operators in the country went a notch higher after another Uber taxi was set ablaze reportedly on Tuesday night.
It is reported that the taxi was attacked by four men in Kawangware area, Nairobi, moments after the driver had picked a passenger from Riruta.
Police confirmed that the driver in the Toyota Passo taxi escaped the ordeal unhurt after noticing the assailants.
“The four were joined by the man who had hired the taxi as the driver jumped out and escaped on foot,” Nairobi police boss Japheth Koome was quoted by the Standard.
In February, another Uber taxi was burnt down along Kirichwa Road in Nairobi's Kilimani area, in what was presumed to be a result of the tussle between regular taxi drivers and their competitors partnering with the Uber company.
Cases of assault against Uber drivers prompted intervention by the government, which strongly condemned the unhealthy competition occasioned by the low rates charged by Uber company.
The regular taxi operators claimed that Uber was driving them out of business but the government promised to protect the latter drivers from assailants
“We are in a liberalized environment and those who offer competitive services must be protected....Uber operators and their clients will be protected,” promised Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.
