Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is to open a study in September to determine whether Uber is a transport service or a digital service.
According to an internal Commission document revealed by Reuters at the end of August, the study will assess the impact expansion of Uber services could have on the taxi sector and on the economy as a whole. It will determine the legal bases with a view to deciding whether there is a need for action to be taken at European level and the form any possible action could take.
The California-based company argues that it is a digital platform that connects willing drivers with customers and should, therefore, be considered to be a digital service. The stakes for Uber are high: if its activities are considered to fall within the area of transport, it will become subject to a legal framework that is much stricter in terms of accreditation, insurance and safety.
Currently, most member states are reviewing their national legislations governing the profession of taxi driver in order to ensure that taxi drivers and Uber can co-exist as well as possible.
At the same time, the Commission is considering four complaints lodged by Uber: two against France and one each against Germany and Spain, which have banned Uber within their borders (see EUROPE 11300).
Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc took a position, in February, in favour of Uber, saying that the services provided by company responded to the expectations of at least part of the population and that a sharing economy makes Europe more efficient (see EUROPE 11289).
Reuters reports that an Uber spokesperson claims that this investigation appears to indicate that the European Commission believes that the manner in which the taxi and private hire sectors are currently regulated in some member states is “dysfunctional and is no longer fit for purpose, not to mention new barriers to entry for innovative, technology-based services such as ridesharing”. The Commission said, however, that the complaints lodged by Uber under no circumstances constitute the start of infringement proceedings against these member states.
No date was given as to the publication of the findings of the study. (Pascal Hansens)