Paris taxi drivers are protesting today against both a new tax and some of the new taxi-style services such as Uber. From the Cnet article, a group of protestors attacked one Uber service vehicle, smashing a window and slashing a tire. Another group later egged and floured a Welsh woman traveling with her 1 and 13 year old children. The attacks are based on a fear these new services could impact the income of taxi drivers in France, which is probably true.

In no way am I condoning the use of violence in this situation, but it should be pointed out this new service, made more capable and convenient via smartphones, does pose a threat to some of the jobs of these taxi drivers. While it isn't the automation of the self-driving cars Google is rumored to want to develop (a la Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End), it is a parallel service capable of taking fares away from individuals for whom driving others around a city.

French taxi driver income is right around 67-69% of the average, which puts them close to the bottom third of the nation. Fare price limitations impact income, but number of fares will directly impact how many taxis, and taxi drivers, are needed. As a way to protect jobs, a new French law passed in December 2013 requires drivers in these alternative services to wait 15 minutes before they can pick up a fare.

It's a start to a list of jobs automation has impacted over the last decade and beyond. We'll continue to see violence resulting from this type of encroachment. I wonder if the damage will be more severe when acted out towards a human being offering this service or an independant machine offering the same.