Ride hailing company Uber has had its ups and downs over the years, but it is certainly one particular business model that does not seem as though it is going to go the way of the dodo anytime soon. However, the Uber business model has seen its fair share of protests across various countries in different continents, as it upsets the age old taxi industry in terms of pricing and availability. Many people find that hailing an Uber is far more convenient and more importantly, cheaper than getting a taxi to arrive at a destination, and this has led to some ill feeling towards Uber drivers by the taxi fraternity in select countries. The latest blow to hit Uber would be Denmark, as a new taxi law that is set to go into motion next month would see Uber making an exit from the Scandinavian country.
The new prerequisites from drivers in the new taxi law will require the use of admission meters in vehicles that are ferrying fare-paying passengers, which is something that Uber does not employ in their vehicles for the simple reason that all of the fares are already pre-calculated and determined, and the passenger would simply stump up the payment either via credit card or cash upon arrival.
Uber has had a relatively short history in Denmark, with its application going online in November 2014. Needless to say, local cab driver unions, organizations and government officials there were not too happy with Uber’s presence, citing that the ride hailing company’s business model did not meet the lawful models which taxi firms had to adhere to, and these lawful models are obviously a whole lot more stringent.
Uber claims that it currently has approximately 2,000 Danish drivers and 300,000 riders who have made use of its app, and made mention in an announcement that it would no longer operate in Denmark on April 18 due to the new law. In order to make Uber work in Denmark in the future, the proposed controls will have to change, otherwise, it would be back to taking taxis all over again.
This would also mean that folks living in Denmark will never be able to enjoy the wonders of a self-driving Uber car, an idea that is currently undergoing testing over in select parts of the US. Uber however, will not give up hope, but will continue on working with the Danish legislature with hopes that their proposed checks will be able to be revised in the future so that Danes can continue to enjoy the advantages of present day innovations such as Uber. For 5-star Uber riders in Denmark, this would be a very sad day indeed, knowing that April is the death knell of Uber there.
To date, a couple of Danish Uber drivers have been fined (back in November) for abusing taxi laws. A month after that in December 2016, Uber’s European division was called in by Danish open prosecutors as the company has been deemed to provide assistance for the two drivers who transgressed taxi laws. Expect this particular case to hit the courts before April 2017 comes to a close. Danish Uber drivers will not be left in a lurch, as Uber claims that they would assign their assets accordingly to provide assistance to this group during the shutdown procedure.
