EU court rules Uber must be regarded as a transport company

A ruling by an representative of the Court of Justice of the European Union has dealt a potential blow to ride-hailing company Uber, saying it is not merely a digital enabler but provides a transport service, which means it must be licensed in order to operate.
May 11, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

A ruling by an representative of the Court of Justice of the European Union has dealt a potential blow to ride-hailing company 8336 Uber, saying it is not merely a digital enabler but provides a transport service, which means it must be licensed in order to operate.

In his ruling, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar, said the Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport. Uber can therefore be required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law.

The case was brought in 2014 by a group of taxi drivers in Barcelona, Spain, which argued that Uber engaged in unfair competition with its UberPOP service, which used unlicensed drivers.

According to Reuters, Uber no longer operates UberPOP in Spain. The company said it would await a final ruling later this year, but added that even if it is considered a transportation company, this "would not change the way we are regulated in most EU countries as that is already the situation today".

The decision is not binding, but the court's judges follow it in most cases.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Here’s why WiM is value for money
    January 23, 2025
    Weigh in Motion systems are not new. What is new is their ability to collect more data and – importantly – more accurate data about axle loading and vehicle weight. Despite the obvious benefits, including safer highways and possibility of automated legal weight enforcement, obstacles remain for faster uptake. David Arminas reports on the manufacturers’ perspective…
    Read More
  • Positive incentives an alternative to road user charging?
    February 1, 2012
    The Netherlands has been looking at incentivising rush-hour avoidance. The intention is to better understand road users' motivations and find alternatives to congestion charging. Something significant needs to happen if we are to adequately address the traffic congestion and other issues caused by the ever-rising numbers of vehicles on our roads. Congestion or distance-based charging is seen as one way of managing demand and raising revenue for improvements to transport infrastructure. However, charging is
    Read More
  • Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    July 24, 2017
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
    Read More
  • Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    July 24, 2017
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
    Read More

Highlighted Content