Some 250 Uber and Didi drivers staged protests outside their respective headquarter offices to draw attention to safety issues following the recent murder of a Uber chofer in Guadalajara.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the killing of a driver in a gas station on the Camino al ITESO, allegedly by his passengers, on Tuesday, October 7.
Angry drivers told reporters that five drivers from various car sharing platforms have been killed in 2019 in the metropolitan area. They say executives of both companies have been deaf to their complaints and requests for more safety measures. During the protests, the doors of both Uber (on Plan de San Luis), and Didi (on Circunvalacion), remained locked and company representatives did not come out and talk to the drivers.
Uber drivers said they have asked the firm to provide a measure that allows them to identify passengers before they begin their rides.
Didi later issued a statement saying it was looking into the demands of drivers, highlighting some of the safety measures the company has already taken, such as installing 911 panic buttons in vehicles and blocking requests from “high risk” zones.