Uber taxi service banned in Berlin on safety grounds

German capital follows Hamburg with vote to ban taxi app firm, saying it does not protect passengers from unlicensed drivers.

Berlin has voted to ban Uber on safety grounds as the app-enabled taxi service continues to run up against resistance in Germany.


Officials said the Californian company, which operates in 110 cities around the world, did not do enough to protect its passengers from unlicensed drivers. A senate statement said Uber – already banned in Hamburg – also failed to provide adequate insurance for its drivers or their passengers in accidents.


The Berlin ruling states: "Uber is from now on no longer allowed to use a smartphone app or similar application, or offer services via this app which are in breach of the Public Transport Act."


Uber said it would appeal against the ban, saying the senate's decision was "anything but progressive", and it was "seeking to limit consumer choice for all the wrong reasons". Uber claims that it does not operate a taxi service, but merely offers a platform that mediates between drivers and customers.


Uber could be fined up to €25,000 (£20,000) if it ignores the ban.


A Hamburg court last month lifted the ban pending a final decision. Uber's general manager Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty told Handelsblatt newspaper on Thursday that he expected a similar decision in Berlin.


The Berlin ban follows Europe-wide protests by taxi drivers in June. In its statement, the Berlin senate said the "protection of the taxi industry" was one of the factors it had taken into consideration.


The Association of Berlin Taxi Drivers welcomed the decision in a statement on its website. "As taxi drivers, we have to meet a series of rules and commitments," said its chairman, Richard Leipold. "With its decision the senate has clarified that these apply to every player on the market, even digital competitors." Leipold said he hoped other cities would follow Berlin's lead.


An interim injunction against Uber has been in place in Berlin since April, after a small taxi provider took legal action against the US company.




The guardian.com