Uber shuns ban in Germany

A luxury Uber. Image: Uber Blog.

A luxury Uber. Image: Uber Blog.

At a hearing earlier today, in Frankfurt a court ruled that mobile taxi firm Uber can no longer operate in Germany due to inadequate insurance and licensing for the type of private drivers it employs.

However, the San Francisco startup have turned a blind-eye to the ‘unfair’ ruling and insists that its drivers will continue to operate throughout the ban period, even though they could face fines up to an eye-watering €250,000 (Euros) per trip.

In an interview with the BBC, Uber insisted that it’s confident its extremely expensive and comprehensive insurance plan more than adequately covers drivers operating in Germany and intends to appeal the preliminary injunction before the week’s out.

“Germany is one of the fastest growing markets for Uber in Europe. We will continue to operate in Germany and will appeal the recent lawsuit filed by Taxi Deutschland in Frankfurt. You cannot put the brakes on progress. Uber will continue its operations and will offer UberPop ridesharing services via its app throughout Germany,” writes a spokesperson for the firm.

This isn’t the first time Uber’s had a brush with the law. It was only back in June of this year that London’s transport authorities, TFL, decided not to pursue a case against the organization after thousands of taxi drivers held a protest against technology-enabled services, like Uber, claiming that they were stealing their customers.

We’re going to have to wait and see how this pans out, but we don’t think it’s going to end well for Uber. Be sure to check back for more information. In the mean time, we’d love to hear your opinion on the matter. Do you think it’s an unjust ruling on the German government’s part? Be sure to drop us a line in the comments section down below