Taxi drivers fail to get private car-pooling agencies banned by European Commission
Monday, June 2, 2014 @ 2:01 PM
EUROPEAN Commissioners have refused to ban private taxi services such as Über and BlaBlaCar despite pressure from licensed cabbies saying they are taking business away from them.
Neelie Kroes and Ryan Heath, from the Digital Agenda department of the European Commission say the only people who would benefit from banning car-pooling companies would be taxi drivers themselves, which would go against competition rules and allow the latter a monopoly over the transport service.
Über, based in the USA and BlaBlaCar, in France, operate jointly in 115 cities and towns worldwide, of which 15 are in the EU.
They allow drivers who are travelling to certain destinations to get in touch with people who want to go in the same direction, paying a fee which normally covers fuel, wear and tear on the vehicle and a small profit.
Participating drivers are required to have their cars in perfect condition and be able to prove this through their service history, have no motoring convictions considered criminal – meaning, in effect, a parking fine would not count – and have at least third party insurance cover.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com