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EU intervenes in Brussels Taxi app war

Uber is an alternative taxi service that operates using a smartphone app, but following a ruling by the Brussels commercial court anybody offering a ride via this app now risks a EUR 10,000 fine.

The ruling cannot count on the support of the European Commissioner for digital affairs, Neelie Kroes.

Ms Kroes said that she was totally incensed by the order banning Uber and opening up drivers to a EUR 10,000 fine. "This is not the 19th century" she fumed.

It was last month that Uber launched the UberPop service that using an app connects private drivers with people looking for a lift.

The Brussels mobility minister, Brigitte Grouwels, has little understanding for the Dutch woman’s intervention: "Ms Kroes is apparently unaware of the rules that apply in Brussels and in Belgium. Taxis and transportation for a fee are bound by rules. Ms Kroes’s reaction smacks of a wild liberalism that I do not comprehend."

"Unchecked deregulation will result in a social bloodbath or, in time, a poor service. It’s a bit rich that a European Commissioner thinks that the law of the land does not need to be respected."

Thanks to the Dutch woman the story has been reported on the front page of the London Financial Times newspaper.

Ms Grouwels fears for the damage to Brussels’ reputation and knows who to blame: "Ms Kroes made her contribution. We are not amused."

Ms Grouwels, who also doubles as the Brussels minister for ICT believes Uber may have hit on a good idea: "We are looking to see if we can’t develop an app of our own for taxis in Brussels. In the sector there is great interest in such a system."

Meanwhile America’s Uber has let it be known it will now exhaust all options to reverse the Belgian court’s ruling.

 

Flandersnews.be / Expatica