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Uber Is Banned in Germany Again An Uber Service Is Banned in Germany Again
(about 2 hours later)
BERLIN — A judge in Frankfurt on Wednesday dealt a strong blow to Uber, ruling that drivers for ride-hailing service nationwide must hold the official permits required of taxi drivers. The ruling reinstates one of the most severe legal restrictions faced by the company anywhere in the world. BERLIN — A judge in Frankfurt on Wednesday dealt a strong blow to Uber, ruling that drivers for its ride-hailing service known as UberPop must hold the official permits required of taxi drivers to operate in Germany. The ruling reinstates one of the most severe legal restrictions faced by the company anywhere in the world.
The decision, by Judge Joachim Nickel, overturns a ruling from September that had lifted an injunction against the service, which had been sought by a taxi drivers’ trade group. The decision, by Judge Joachim Nickel, overturns a ruling from September that had lifted an injunction against the UberPop service, which had been sought last year by a taxi drivers’ trade group.
Uber allows drivers to connect with potential passengers using a smartphone application. The company, based in San Francisco, has faced legal challenges across the world since it was founded in 2009. Uber operates two other services in Germany and elsewhere in Europe — UberBlack and UberTaxi — that use only professionally licensed drivers. Those services are not affected by Wednesday’s ruling.
Judge Nickel found Uber to be in violation of Germany’s public transportation act, which requires any service carrying passengers for a fee to be operated by licensed drivers. There was no immediate comment from Uber. Uber’s services allow drivers to connect with potential passengers using a smartphone application. The company, based in San Francisco, has faced legal challenges across the world since it was founded in 2009.
The suit was brought against the company by Taxi Deutschland, a trade group representing Germany’s taxi drivers, which charged that Uber had violated completion laws. The group welcomed the ruling on Wednesday. Judge Nickel found UberPop to be in violation of Germany’s public transportation act, which requires any service carrying passengers for a fee to be operated by licensed drivers.
Uber said it planned to appeal the ruling.
“We regret today’s interim ruling about UberPop by the Frankfurt District Court,” Fabien Nestmann, the company’s general manager in Munich, said in a statement.
“We will now wait to see the court’s reasoning and review it thoroughly,” Mr. Nestmann said. “In our opinion, however, the ban pronounced by the court represents a fundamental infringement, in particular of our right under European law to establish and provide a service.’’
Uber late last year had lodged a complaint against Germany at the European Commission, the administrative arm of the Europe Union.
The lawsuit that resulted in Wednesday’s court ruling was brought against the company by Taxi Deutschland, a trade group representing Germany’s taxi drivers, which charged that UberPop had violated completion laws. The group welcomed the ruling on Wednesday.
“The basis of Uber’s business model is in violation of the law,” Dieter Schlenker, the head of Taxi Deutschland, told the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.“The basis of Uber’s business model is in violation of the law,” Dieter Schlenker, the head of Taxi Deutschland, told the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.