Summary Uber welcomed the capital's new regulations
MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Mexico City s government imposed regulations on Wednesday for ride-booking applications such as Uber and Cabify, requiring them to get permits to operate and pay a fee following an uproar from taxi drivers.
The rules published in the government s official journal say that app operators will have to contribute 1.5 percent from each ride to a special fund to improve taxi service in the mega-capital.
The regulation sets conditions for the type of cars that can be part of an app s fleet: they must be worth at least 200,000 pesos ($12,650) and have four doors, air conditioning, working seatbelts and airbags.
Drivers will not be allowed to accept cash payments. Uber rides are booked with a credit card.
Taxi drivers in cities around the world have complained that Uber drivers, who are booked via a smartphone application, are poorly regulated and provide unfair competition.
Mexico City taxi drivers snarled traffic in a massive anti-Uber protest in May, complaining that app operators do not have to pay the huge fees that cabs are charged by the government.
Uber welcomed the capital s new regulations.
"Today Mexico City s megalopolis is making history," the US company said on its website.
"Mexico s capital -- one of the most complex cities in the world -- now has modern, forward-looking regulations echoing the principles of Uber s business model: the logic of supply and demand alongside a citizen s ability to choose how they move around their city."
