The arrival of the smart-phone application Uber has thrown the taxi industry into a state of disarray. First launched in June 2009 in San Francisco, the application has spread rapidly and today finds itself in over 300 cities in approximately 58 countries. While it offers many advantages over traditional taxis, including lower rates, it is having serious effects on the living conditions of taxi drivers. In Canada, the opposition of taxi drivers to Uber was most recently seen in Toronto where taxi drivers blocked streets and one taxi driver was dragged down the street after confronting a suspected Uber driver. Last June in Paris, cab drivers blockaded access to the airport while in Nice and Nantes they burned tires in the streets to protest against the presence of Uberpop. These events are only the most dramatic in a series of reactions to the arrival of the Uber phenomenon around the globe.