Taxi firms call for paid car-pooling App to be scrapped
Taxi firms call for paid car-pooling App to be scrapped
SPANISH taxi drivers are calling for a mobile phone application which puts ordinary motorists in touch with each other for paid lifts to be banned.
The 'App', known as Über, also provides a way for passengers to pay drivers online.
Effectively, it allows those offering illegal 'airport runs' and more local transport to get in touch with potential customers more quickly and efficiently.
Taxi firms throughout Spain say if the App, which comes from the USA, is not withdrawn, they will stage countrywide protest marches, claiming using ordinary motorists for a paid car-pooling service leaves the customer open to risks and could put 100,000 cabbies out of a job.
The Commercial Court in Brussels, part of the European Union, has already ordered the company Über to cease its car-pooling-for-cash activities.
This decision by the Court was criticised by European Commissioner for Digital Services, Neelie Kroes, who said Brussels was 'clearly not out to protect passengers' but to 'create a lucrative monopoly' for taxi companies.
