Uber makes inroads around the world despite taxi protests

If news headlines are any indication, 2015 was the year of Uber or perhaps more appropriately, taxi vs. Uber.

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Taxi drivers around the world protested against the popularride-hailingapp, arguing that the service took food off their tables and compromised their livelihoods. Meanwhile, Uber has asked numerous governments for regulation to allow the tech-friendly service to operate within the confines of the law.

The protests were tolittle orno avail. The popular but contentiousUberXservice that employs non-professional driverscontinues to operate in all the cities below except Turin.

France

Anti-Uber protests across France, particularly in Paris and Nice, saw tires set on fire, windows smashedand cars overturned.

The June nationwide protest led Uber to temporarilysuspend its UberPOP service there. However, it has since quietly resumed operations as UberX.

Uber is also unpopular with cab drivers elsewhere in Europe.

The UberX service launched in Brussels on Sept. 3.

Although there is an entry onUber'swebsitefor Turin, an Italian city with fewer than a million residents,the service does not currently operate there.

However, premium variations of Uber (like UberBLACK and UberVAN) are available in other Italian cities, namely Roma and Florence.

UberX doesn't operate in The Hague yet, but it does in Amsterdam (launched in September)and Rotterdam (launched in October).

In Latin America, taxi driversclogged busy city streets to protestagainst Uber.

InSan Jose, Costa Rica, Uber and competitor Lyft were cleared to pick up passengers from the airport in November, despite frequent protests by taxi drivers.

InDecember, the government of Sao Paulo, Brazil, said itis looking at introducing a model that requires Uberto buy transportation credits for distance covered. The rate would change depending on the time of day and location. Uber called the credit idea "innovative."

Rio de Janeiro the site of the 2016 Olympics that will attract millions of tourists in September banned services like Uber outright. However, Reuters reports the service continues to operate despite the ban.

UberX began operations in Montevideo on Nov. 19 despitetaxi drivers' opposition.

Bogota, Colombia, was the second Latin American city to get Uber. Now it boasts four car options, including a service called UberANGEL. It's a flat-fee service that people can call on after they've had a few too many drinks.

Australia

UberXuseis rampant across Australia, with the service currently offered in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and elsewhere in the country.

That doesn't mean it's legal or that cab drivers are OK with it a newspaper in the state of Victoria wrote in October that the local taxi bureau has fined Uber drivers upwards of $600,000and that there were at least a dozen cases before the courts in the state of Victoria alone.

Canada

Taxi drivers in Montreal and Toronto have grabbed headlines for their frequent protesting against Uber, specifically its UberX service. Even so, UberX operates in nine or so cities in Canada, including the aforementioned Montreal and Toronto, as well as Calgary, Ottawa and Windsor.

Canada's Competition Bureau in October released a white paper on the subject, in which it urged cities pondering Uber policies to relax regulations and allow ride-bookingservices to compete against taxis.

Pro-Uberdemonstrations

While taxi drivers around the world are angry about Uber, some of Uber's supporters have come out toting signs of their own, too.

In New York City, people gathered over the summer to support the ride-hailingapp and denounce how some cities seem determined to protectthe taxi industry.