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It's strange that this took so long, and only in Berlin. If you want to drive a Taxi in Germany, you need a special driver's license. If you want to open a taxi

It's strange that this took so long, and only in Berlin. If you want to drive a Taxi in Germany, you need a special driver's license. If you want to open a taxi company you need to prove that you are reliable and secure. Additionally you can't refuse a passenger (if there is nothing wrong with them) and can only charge the tarif the city says (+ additional charges like if it sunday or at night).

Xylakant 12y ago
> It's strange that this took so long, and only in Berlin. I'm not surprised that it's only in Berlin: Berlin and Munich are the only german cities Uber operates in. In addition to that you need standing to sue, so neither you nor me as a customer can sue. The injunction here is the result of a case started by a taxi company owner in Berlin, so it applies to Berlin only. I would assume that the Munich cab companies were waiting for this case to go through and might follow suit. It's important to note that this is _only_ a preliminary decision, the final court decision may be different. It's more of an indicator in which direction the court leans, but preliminary injunctions may be granted for reasons such as that continuing the service might create irreversible facts. (nb: I haven't read the injunction)
simfoo 12y ago
Exactly. And as the article shows in the end, it seems Uber did raise their fares according to high demand in at least one occasion in New York.
- Xylakant 12y ago
  That's a feature (Surge Pricing). The official reason is to get more cars on the road, but I bet they're not unhappy about pocketing more consumer money either.
  - thenewbtg 12y ago
    Surge Pricing is illegal in Berlin, and probably other European countries. And I imagine the illegality of price gouging ("surge pricing") while also skirting taxi regulation will be expanded dramatically in the coming years, all across much of Europe and blue states. Yes, you can profit when you find loopholes in regulations that your competitors can't take advantage of. Color me shocked.
stef25 12y ago
Not just Berlin, the same happened in Brussels a couple days ago. We have a dinosaur of a "transport minister" who decided to ban. Two taxi companies monopolize the market. Neelie Kroes then spoke out against this ban: https://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/en/content/crazy-court-decision-ban-uber-brussels-show-your-anger https://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/en/content/c...
- Xylakant 12y ago
  Well, as far as I read the belgian case is about UberPop, the Berlin case about UberBlack, so that's different.

Xylakant 12y ago

> It's strange that this took so long, and only in Berlin. I'm not surprised that it's only in Berlin: Berlin and Munich are the only german cities Uber operates in. In addition to that you need standing to sue, so neither you nor me as a customer can sue. The injunction here is the result of a case started by a taxi company owner in Berlin, so it applies to Berlin only. I would assume that the Munich cab companies were waiting for this case to go through and might follow suit. It's important to note that this is _only_ a preliminary decision, the final court decision may be different. It's more of an indicator in which direction the court leans, but preliminary injunctions may be granted for reasons such as that continuing the service might create irreversible facts. (nb: I haven't read the injunction)

simfoo 12y ago

Exactly. And as the article shows in the end, it seems Uber did raise their fares according to high demand in at least one occasion in New York.

Xylakant 12y ago
That's a feature (Surge Pricing). The official reason is to get more cars on the road, but I bet they're not unhappy about pocketing more consumer money either.
- thenewbtg 12y ago
  Surge Pricing is illegal in Berlin, and probably other European countries. And I imagine the illegality of price gouging ("surge pricing") while also skirting taxi regulation will be expanded dramatically in the coming years, all across much of Europe and blue states. Yes, you can profit when you find loopholes in regulations that your competitors can't take advantage of. Color me shocked.

stef25 12y ago

Not just Berlin, the same happened in Brussels a couple days ago. We have a dinosaur of a "transport minister" who decided to ban. Two taxi companies monopolize the market. Neelie Kroes then spoke out against this ban: https://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/en/content/crazy-court-decision-ban-uber-brussels-show-your-anger https://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/en/content/c...

Xylakant 12y ago
Well, as far as I read the belgian case is about UberPop, the Berlin case about UberBlack, so that's different.