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Ride-sharing service Uber has certainly rubbed the taxi industry the wrong way in most parts of the world, but taxi operators in France have taken their dislike to a whole new level.
Following near-riots in the streets from angry taxi drivers, Uber has now announced it will suspend some of its operations in France.
The Wall Street Journal reports Uber has agreed to meet the demands of French authorities by putting its service in limbo.
Uber arguably had no choice, as two of its key executives now face criminal charges in France - Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, head of Western Europe, and Thibaud Simphal, head of France.
They have been ordered to appear on September 30 to face six charges in total including tax evasion, deceptive commercial practices and illicit storage of personal data.
Yowch.
For now, Uber’s ‘Uberpop’ service is the focus of most of the attention, while Uber’s other services in France continue to operate.
Uber’s future in France, and perhaps other parts of the world, now lies with the French legal system, as a court decision on the legality of the service is due to be handed down in September.
“Today is a black day for the 500,000 regular users of Uberpop in France, as well as for the drivers that regularly use the platform,” Uber said in a statement.
“It is now up to us to explain what we are doing and the advantages of the Uber platform.”
Even a positive outcome for Uber from the court case may be short-lived, with the office of French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, saying “Uberpop needed to be banned”. The service has also been banned in Spain and Germany.
The French taxi industry welcomed the move, saying it “salutes the work of public authorities”.
NSW Labor Backs Uber, Calls For ‘Shared Economy’ Regulation
New South Wales Opposition leader, Luke Foley, is perhaps one of the few politicians in Australia or around the world willing to back the Uber ride-sharing service.
While Australia is yet to see taxi drivers demonstrating in the streets, Uber has come to the attention of local authorities.
South Australia’s government declared the service ‘dangerous’, while the Australian Taxation Office warned all Uber operators would need an Australian Business Number (ABN) to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Rather than legislate to ban the service, Mr Foley called on NSW to embrace the ‘shared economy’ and announced plans to introduce a private member’s bill to parliament.
"The [NSW] Government's defying reality by pretending that the emerging ride-sharing industry is illegal or could be fined out of existence," Mr Foley said, speaking with the ABC.
“It won't be, it can't be. It's here to stay, let's regulate it in the public interest. The people have voted with their feet: a million ride-sharing trips in Sydney last year. That number will only grow."
The bill is likely to cause consternation in the NSW taxi industry, which has already lobbied the State Government to ban Uber. The industry’s union is also likely to put up a fight, and many of its members are Labor votors.
Reports suggest inspectors in SA, Queensland, Victoria and NSW have already issued fines to Uber operators in the last 12 months. Uber has reportedly paid these fines on behalf of its operators.
MORE: Nightmare On Car Street - The Uber-Effect
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4 Comments
They must have Abn and pay tax, healthy competition is good for consumers.
People must also realise that Cabbies are trained in specific areas of customer handling & general service , knowledge etc, though sometimes this for some reason never appears to be the case. Taxi owners/drivers HC car operators must have an RMS Authorised photo ID. Wedding vehicles or vehicles that are also authorised to do non corporate operations only require a certificate issued by the RMS or the old DOT. Uber drivers don't. Touting for fares in a car that is not registered as a taxi or authorised Hire car is in fact a criminal offence under the public transport act. Uber owners/drivers effectively leave themselves open to litigation, as their public liability insurance won't cover their passengers.
Well isn't the insurance a bit of a grey area here. I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert but there seems to be a lot of controversy regarding uber insurance. Uber states they will cover the driver and passenger as a secondary insurer (if the primary insurer knocks back the claim). The problems begin once you do have an accident and the insurance company has knocked back your claim due to being a Uber driver. Uber may pick up the bill that time but good luck getting your comprehensive insurance from another Australian provider. Then to make things worse Uber requires all drivers have insurance so you can no longer truthfully state that and you don't have any insurance. If there's one area you don't want up for interpretation it's your insurance.
Unfortunately for Uber owners & drivers, because they are not an Authorised hire vehicle, it actually is illegal for them in Australia to operate. They face fines under the Public Transportation Act for illegally taking fares without the relevant licences /Authority etc. The insurance issue will add substantially to their problems.