A simple idea, a huge effect. With just a click of your finger from A to B and for little money. Anyone who has been rubbing their eyes in big cities around the world and counting the many Toyota Corollas on the streets has already got to know the influence of the “Uber” app on traffic. But not only the traffic density of hybrid cars has changed enormously, Uber also felt the effects of the sales of classic taxi companies. I myself am an advocate of the free market economy and say: better idea, better turnover. However, it is not that simple. Because until now it was unclear whether Uber can be traded as a simple Internet marketplace or whether it has to meet far more requirements as a taxi company than with the first name. Now the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice expressed his assessment. At the expense of Uber. And to the detriment of the spirit of innovation?
Simple and fast
To be honest, I'm not only a fan of the free market economy, but also of Uber. Why? I lived in London for half a year and believe me, without Uber the time there would have been much more complicated. To get cheaply from A to B, all you have to do is open the app and a nearby driver will be assigned based on your location. You enter the desired destination, the driver can accept or reject it (the next driver is in the queue). If he accepts the endpoint (which I think 98% of the time it should be) he'll be there within the next five minutes (at most) and everything is running like a normal taxi. Payment is made by credit card at the end of the journey. As already said, simple and fast.
Because of this well-functioning concept, Uber is becoming more and more popular. The sales figures for 2016 show that far more people are using the service than in previous years. In 2013, with a turnover of 104 million US dollars, it started relatively cautiously, but in 2016 it rose to 2 billion US dollars. However, the turnover does not necessarily say anything about the success. The downside is that Uber started 1 with a net loss of $2016 billion. Uber is now very widely represented on every continent, the sales and especially the possible profits are difficult to forecast. Especially because of the daring future of the idea.
Because it should also be noted that you ride with people who have less to show in terms of identity and security than normal taxi drivers. The reason for this is how Uber defines itself. The Americans want to be seen there as a pure online intermediation service. As a result, the company does not have to comply with the many traffic and taxi regulations that apply in the EU area. It is far from the case that you simply register with the app and can directly play taxi driver with your car.
Regulations for drivers
It's not that easy for the drivers who want to. After the classic registration with name, age, address, etc., a second registration page prevents you from going to the car key. There the guys from Uber take it a little more precisely. Of course, a driver's license is required, but also the vehicle registration certificate, identity card, police clearance certificate (Uber covers the application costs) and the score in Flensburg. In addition, the user's insurance company must approve the use of the car on Uber services, which it often does not. If everything is done anyway, a Californian number rings on the cell phone. The head of the Silicon Valley start-up himself? No, a German-speaking colleague answers with a nice voice and asks if everything is okay. After confirmation, the invitation to the introduction at the Uber office in Frankfurt (certainly depending on the location) followed. Missing documents can also be submitted there. Top. The introduction mainly revolves around the app, which is the heart of the company for both the driver and the passenger. If you are the closest car to a passenger, you can be accepted or rejected. One is one's own boss is often emphasized.
Payment is made every Monday. The driver earns one euro per kilometer driven with a guest, and 25 cents per minute. One euro is added per trip. Altogether, Uber deducts 20 percent of these commissions and transfers the rest weekly. If a passenger soils the car or even causes damage to it, Uber pays the costs.
The recommendation
The judges of the European Court of Justice are not bound by any recommendation with their judgment. However, they are often based on the opinion of the relevant Advocate General. At the moment, the Pole Maciej Szpunar is one of eleven such lawyers in a kind of special body. The task of the eleven Advocates General is to assist the judges in the decision-making process, with complete impartiality and independence. The work is therefore not comparable to that of a normal public prosecutor. The basis for the expert opinions is often based on decisions already made in the past, which are projected onto the new case.
While a verdict on the case is not in sight until the end of the year, taxi companies are already breathing a sigh of relief. The lawyer's recommendation was that Uber should be treated like a conventional taxi company. The regulations would of course be stricter, drivers would have to be trained differently and the simple procurement via cell phone would then be questionable in the form in which it currently exists. Maciej Szpunar, Attorney General of the ECJ, stated on May 11.05.2017, XNUMX that Uber belongs to the transport sector. This means that the individual EU states are free to regulate the company's activities. In Germany, this rule was relatively simple and plain, even before the report: Uber is forbidden! To conclude the whole thing, I throw the term free market economy into the room again. Without going too deep, I think the Uber idea is progressive and innovative. On the other hand, the classic taxi companies should not die out directly, but a better idea is a better idea. Perhaps Uber will find a way out of the problematic situation again. We are looking forward to the topping-out ceremony at the end of this year!
