Uber launches petition in Hungary

The petition has been signed by 14,853 users, out of the 15,000 that Uber had set as a goal, according to the webpage of the petition. (Screengrab of the petition, uber.org)

“The Government of Hungary wants to regulate Uber out of existence in an effort to appease the taxi industry,” the e-mail sent by the company says. According to a report by Hungarian news agency MTI on Wednesday, the government is considering a proposal that would result in Hungarian Uber drivers losing the license plate on the cars they use for ride-sharing services if they are caught by officials.

“The Government needs to know you care about Uber,” the e-mail from Uber says, adding: “We want to stay and help get Budapest moving”. The message adds that users can sign a petition by following the link at the bottom of the message.

When users sign the petition, an e-mail message is automatically sent to National Development Minister Miklós Seszták and state secretary János Fónagy, saying that the signee of the petition supports Uber and calls on the officials to support the service as well.

Following a four-day-long demonstration by Hungarian taxi drivers in Budapest in January against the operations of Uber, the Hungarian government decided to make changes to transport laws, which are expected to favor taxi drivers over Uber drivers, according to reports.