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Europe's Top Court To Decide If Uber Is Tech Firm Or Taxi Company

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-are-you? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A Spanish judge has requested that the European Court of Justice determine whether or not Uber is a generic "digital service," as it claims, or a "mere transport activity." If the court rules that Uber is a transportation firm the company may have to follow the same licensing and safety rules as taxis and other hired vehicles. "Today's news means that the European Court of Justice will now determine if the national rules currently being applied to digital services like Uber are legal and appropriate under European law," said Mark MacGann, Uber's Head of Public Policy for EMEA, on a conference call with journalists.

9 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Taxi company by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a taxi company

    I can order a taxi online already. Why would a particular implementation of ordering transport online suddenly make it something completely different?

    If you take away the cars, Uber no longer has anything to sell. If you take away the online app, they could switch to some other channel and continue.

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    1. Re:Taxi company by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why would a particular implementation of ordering transport online suddenly make it something completely different?

      As far as I can tell, because Uber wants it to be.

      Which, also as far as I can tell, is a complete lie as the company seems to think they stepped in unicorn poop and can now make up their own definitions and decide what laws apply to them.

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    2. Re:Taxi company by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Informative

      If we're using ownership of cars as the threshold, then I'm afraid to tell you in many places the cab driver owns his own car.

      So, I'm sorry to tell you, but once again the ways people defend Uber as being inherently different from a cab company are completely bullshit.

      A cab is a commercial vehicle for hire. Uber is just a bootleg cab company playing a shell game with the definitions for their own purposes.

      Your definition of a taxi not also being a personal vehicle is not real. It may apply in some places, but it most certainly is NOT the actual definition.

      I'm betting there's lots of places where the cabs are owned by the drivers. And they sill fall under the regulations around taxis, commercial cars for hire, and the license and insurance required to do that.

      Sorry, Uber is a cab company, no matter what they say.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Taxi company by Veranix · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sorry, Uber is a cab company, no matter what they say.

      I'm not a fan of Uber but I'm not certain this is true, in my understanding a typical cab will drive around looking for random people to wave it down and potentially wait at certain high pickup locations.

      An Uber (or Lyft) vehicle will only respond to a request from the webapp, it strikes me as more analogous to a Limo service or other hired vehicle. Are those considered taxis? (not rhetorical, I'm actually curious. For tax purposes it appears they are).

      I live in a city in the Midwest, and have traveled for work to many other cities in the Midwest. Nigh universally, there is no such thing as a taxi that drives around looking for fares. You call a taxi company, or use their website, to request a taxi be dispatched to your location.

      Rarely, in some cities, there are designated areas called "taxi stands" located in or near neighborhoods with a high density of bars. Taxis can sometimes be found idling there, waiting for inebriated folks to stumble their way. This is far from a ubiquitous practice, and even where the taxi stands exist, generally only contain taxis on Friday and Saturday nights.

      Perhaps taxis continually circle or wait around high-traffic locations in very large cities. However, even on my trips to Chicago, I've seen only the dispatch request model.

  2. Easy way out for Uber by fluffernutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If Uber doesn't want to be a Taxi company, then they should really stop focusing so much on carrying people around in cars.

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  3. Re:My family learned the hard way about licenses by tomhath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sorry to hear of your relative's problem. But really, the next time she needs surgery she should go to what? A butcher shop? A hairdresser? You really think someone without a license is a better choice?

  4. Re:Court should refuse to rule by Primate+Pete · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a false analogy for two reasons:

    First, in the candlemakers' appeal, the requst is to kill the competition. In the Uber case, the question is which body of law to apply. These are not parallel questions.

    Second, Bastiat's appeal is fictional and based on satire and oversimplification to make a point; the Spanish judge's request is based in actual events and law, which are much more complicated.

  5. Re:Abacus or Typewriter by dywolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A taxi company screaming "I am not a taxi company" is not a reason to change the laws.

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  6. What else could Uber not be? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Uber could not be a pimp, they just facilitate the matching up of hookers and johns, process the payments and take a cut.

    Uber could not be a slave trader, they just facilitate the matching up of slaves and slave owners, process the payments and take a cut.

    Uber could not be a murder for hire company, they just facilitate the matching up of assassins and people who need someone dead...

    Don't worry, it's just digital services, nothing illegal going on at all!