France Orders 15-Minute Delay for Uber Customers

Unrepentant taxi protectionism

To the surprise of virtually everyone in France, the government has just passed a law requiring car services like Uber to wait 15 minutes before picking up passengers. The bill is designed to help regular taxi drivers, who feel threatened by recently introduced companies like Uber, SnapCar and LeCab. Cabbies in the Gallic nation require formidable time and expense to get their permits and see the new services—which lack such onerous requirements—as direct competitors.

(Hat tip to Mark Sletten)