UBER was classified as a passenger transport company by the Court of Justice of the European Union, so it must obey the existing legislation in European countries for such types of services. The Court of Justice of the European Union does not classify UBER as a taxi company, but neither as a technological one, which is extremely important, leaving the company to discuss its situation with each European country separately.
UBER will use this decision to operate in various European countries, as other passenger transport companies do, with rules, perhaps, even more relaxed than those for taxis. Practically, based on today's decision, UBER can discuss with the authorities in each country in which it operates in order to establish its status and to be able to continue offering its services to the millions of customers throughout Europe.
UBER is already classified in some European countries as a passenger transport company, so the decision will not affect it at all there, but only in countries where it has not yet established its status. Here we return to Romania, where last night the General City Hall of Bucharest changed the operating regulations for taxi services, imposing stricter rules for companies that do taximetry, or transport people by taxi, like UBER.
UBER is a transport company, says CEJ
From now on, UBER should also have an authorized dispatcher to be able to operate, separate from licensed drivers, but this second requirement has not really been imposed by anyone so far. Taxi drivers got angry and protested today in Piata Victoriei because UBER also forces them to become civilized, not to refuse rides as they feel like, not to ask for tips and other messes, but UBER is too big for them.
"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."
UBER will continue to operate in Romania and not only in Bucharest, but also in other cities in the country, especially since the decision of the ECJ gives it the opportunity to find a legal solution for its operation. Despite yesterday's decision of the Bucharest City Hall, UBER worked today without problems in the capital and will continue to do so, because if there was no interest in the closure until now, there won't be any soon.
The existence of UBER is very important on the Romanian market because it helps to clean up the taxi system, otherwise the mess would have accumulated endlessly without any possibility of cleaning. If UBER disappears, along with Taxify, then we will return to the same problems that we barely managed to escape after the taxi drivers were left alone looking at the people who were fed up with them.
