EU Court Declares Uber A Transportation Company

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Uber is officially a transport company and not a digital service.

Uber had argued it was an information society service – helping people to make contact with each other electronically – and not a cab firm.

An Uber spokesperson said: “This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law.

“However, millions of Europeans are still prevented from using apps like ours. As our new CEO has said, it is appropriate to regulate services such as Uber and so we will continue the dialogue with cities across Europe. This is the approach we’ll take to ensure everyone can get a reliable ride at the tap of a button.”

In its ruling, the ECJ said that a service whose purpose was “to connect, by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration, non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys” must be classified as “a service in the field of transport” in EU law.

It added: “As EU law currently stands, it is for the member states to regulate the conditions under which such services are to be provided in conformity with the general rules of the treaty on the functioning of the EU.”

The pan-European ruling against Uber is based on a complaint brought by a taxi group in Barcelona that was originally filed in 2014 and claimed that the ride-booking company represented unfair competition because it did not comply with the same rules that applied to existing taxis.