The EU’s top court has ruled uber should be regulated like a transport company and not like a technology company acting as an intermediary.
UBER HAS BEEN given a bloody nose by the European Court of Justice which has ruled the company should be regulated as a transport provider and not a technology company. The court rejected Uber’s argument that it is simply an app acting as an intermediary between drivers and customers looking to share a ride, and so should be governed by Europe’s online services laws.
In its ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said, “The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport.
“Member states can, therefore, regulate the conditions for providing that service,” it said.
Uber released a statement following the court’s announcement saying, more or less, that it didn’t know what all the fuss was about as it already operated under transportation law in Europe.
“This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law,” an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement.
“As our new CEO [Dara Khosrowshahi] has said, it is appropriate to regulate services such as Uber and so we will continue the dialogue with cities across Europe. This is the approach we’ll take to ensure everyone can get a reliable ride at the tap of a button.”
Opinion: I’m a fan of uber and I now use it over hailing a taxi and I know that my choice affects the livelihoods of others while helping others. For me, I’m able to get to my destination quicker and cheaper and generally in a cleaner and better maintained vehicle.
But, uber should cop regulation… it’s not an intermediary connecting drivers with customers… it’s created a niche and is now a US$68 billion company. Let’s not delude ourselves, the person who drives you to your destination in an uber was not actually heading in that direction so it’s not really ride sharing it’s just an unmarked taxi service. Ride sharing is what I did yesterday; see, my son was heading to a soccer academy and so was one of his friends from school – my son shared a ride to the academy with his friend who was going to the same place at the same time. That’s ride sharing.
