After the City of Chicago passed an ordinance establishing a separate and unequal system for so-called “rideshare” services like UberX and Lyft, Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 (CDU) members are making their voices heard.

On Wednesday, April 1st, Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 members delivered to the offices of Alderman Anthony Beale, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and the Public Way, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel the signatures of more than 3,300 Chicago cab drivers on a petition urging the city to apply the same safety rules and regulations to Uber and other transportation network providers (TNPs) as are already applied to cabs.

“As cab drivers in the City of Chicago, we are licensed professionals,” said Macarl Johnson, a veteran Chicago cab driver and Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 member. “We are urging the city to act now to level the playing field for cab drivers and protect the public.”

“The recent reports of sexual assault by an UberX driver show that Uber can’t be trusted to police itself,” Johnson added. “It’s a serious public safety hazard, and one the city needs to address.”

“We are full-time professional drivers who count on our earnings to support our families, yet we are facing economic devastation because of the out-of-control number of non-professional drivers on the road,” said fellow cab driver Ghazi Abutaa. “The city limits the number of cabs on the road to relieve congestion. But with UberX, there’s no limit. Some say there are 15,000 vehicles, many from out of state, on the road, just to drive UberX for a couple hours a week.”