A German court has banned Uber services in that country, arguing the company lacks a necessary licence to offer passenger transport services using rental cars, Reuters reports.
This comes on the heels of last month’s decision by the Transport for London to not grant Uber a new licence to operate in London, saying the taxi app was not “fit and proper” as a licence holder.
In Germany, where Uber is active in seven cities including Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich, the company exclusively works with car rental companies and their licensed drivers.
Reuters reports the verdict is effective immediately but can be appealed. “We will assess the court’s ruling and determine next steps to ensure our services in Germany continue”, says an Uber spokesperson.
It adds that a person close to the company said that Uber will now change the way it operates in Europe’s largest economy, noting that it is also considering taking legal action against the ruling.
The plaintiff, Taxi Deutschland, said it would seek immediate provisional enforcement. It said Uber would then have to pay fines starting at 250 euros per ride and rising to as much as 250 000 euros per ride in the case of repeated offences, according to Reuters.
The court in 2015 forbade Uber from matching up drivers using their own cars with ride hailers. Uber’s current service, which lets customers hail rides carried out in rented cars, is also illegal as it violates competition rules, the court said.
Uber advertised rides to customers in a way that led them to view it as the provider of the transport service, the court said, adding that the firm also selects specific drivers and determines prices.
“From a passenger’s point of view, Uber provides the service itself and is therefore an entrepreneur,” the presiding judge said, adding this meant Uber has to comply with laws governing passenger transport.
The popular ride-hailing company has faced resistance from regulators and traditional taxi services in a range of countries after being dogged by controversy for a number of years
Last week, Uber submitted an appeal against the decision by London’s transport regulator to strip the taxi app of its right to operate in one its most important markets.
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