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

  • Developments in signal head lens technology
    February 3, 2012
    Heads and tails Leading manufacturers of traffic signal systems discuss developments in signal head technology as well as some of the legacy issues which affect future deployments Transparent model of Dambach's ACTROS.line technology, showing the bus electronics in the signal head Cowls could be superseded by the greater use of lens technology
    Read More
  • ANPR - cost-efficient traffic management, enforcement and more
    January 23, 2012
    Geoff Collins of Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions talks about the near-term prospects of ANPR. The continued absence of a champion for its cause is preventing digital enforcement technology from delivering the true levels of cost-effectiveness of which it is capable, according to Geoff Collins, sales and marketing director of ANPR specialist Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions.
    Read More
  • Helsinki’s residents trial MaaS as alternative to private cars
    August 21, 2018
    Would you give up your own car? Helsinki implemented MaaS late last year and Colin Sowman discovers that the initial reaction has been positive What would it take for you to give up your own car? That is the question posed by Sampo Hietanen, the so-called ‘father’ of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and CEO of MaaS Global. And he is about to discover if MaaS really will convince the people of Helsinki to do the unthinkable. MaaS Global introduced a fledgling version of its Whim app in the city in late 2016
    Read More
  • Vehicle ownership - a thing of the past?
    May 22, 2012
    Convergence of electron-powered vehicles with connected vehicle technologies could mean that only a few decades from now the idea of owning a vehicle will be entirely alien to the road user. By Technolution chief scientist Dave Marples with Jason Barnes Even when taken individually, many of the developments going on and around vehiclebased mobility will bring about major changes in transportation. Taken collectively, the transformations we might expect are nothing short of profound. Enumeration of the influ
    Read More

Highlighted Content