Rio Becomes First Brazilian City to Ban Use of Uber

Taxi drivers demonstrate outside the chamber of deputies in the neighborhood of Se, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 9, 2015. Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images

RIO DE JANEIRO—The city that hosts next year’s Olympic Games has become the first in Brazil to ban the use of smartphone-based ride-hailing applications like Uber.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes on Tuesday, Sept. 29, signed legislation recently passed by Rio’s city council banning Uber and similar technologies from operating in the city.

“Uber is forbidden,” Paes said after signing the bill. “We are open to discuss the matter, but it is forbidden.”

To please taxi owners in the city, Mayor Paes sanctioned a completely unconstitutional bill to ban technology from the city, leaving cariocas (Rio residents) with less options to move around.

— Uber