# Uber isn’t a tech company — it’s basically a taxi company, E.U. court adviser says



## SUV warrior (May 7, 2016)

The Switch
*Uber isn't a tech company - it's basically a taxi company, E.U. court adviser says*

By Brian Fung May 11 at 2:51 PM
finds that Uber is not the so-called information society service it claims to be, because the company's policies and app designs influence when, how and whether its independent drivers pick up passengers.

"Uber cannot be regarded as a mere intermediary between drivers and passengers," the opinion reads.

The finding marks the latest in a string of setbacks for Uber, which faces the prospect of stricter regulation should a final court ruling concur with this week's nonbinding opinion. The case could also hold wider implications for the so-called "gig economy" in Europe as regulators grapple with changing patterns of commerce, employment and technology.

The advocate general's opinion is merely advisory in nature. But the opinion will be taken into consideration by the senior-most court in the European Union, which will issue its final ruling later this year.

Under the advocate general's interpretation of the law, Uber could be required to seek licenses and permits to operate in Barcelona, where the case first arose, according to a Thursday statement from the court.

The suit, filed by a local taxi association, saw Uber arguing that it is an "information society service," a label that entitles the company to lighter regulation. But the advocate general said Uber does not meet a number of qualifying tests for the regulatory classification.

Uber said Thursday that it had seen the advocate general's opinion and would await the court's final ruling.

"Being considered a transportation company would not change the way we are regulated in most EU countries," Uber said in a statement, "as that is already the situation today. It will, however, undermine the much needed reform of outdated laws which prevent millions of Europeans from accessing a reliable ride at the tap of a button."

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Uber is operating in 21 European countries.

In 2016, Uber launched its UberX service in Madrid after authorities there forced the company out roughly a year before. Unlike its counterpart in the United States, UberX drivers in Spain must be licensed professionals, not just private citizens with a car of their own.

Uber has faced legal battles in a number of other countries across the Atlantic, including Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark - the last of which Uber said it would withdraw from after a law passed mandating the use of fare meters and other equipment.

Uber has had a tough start to the year, with multiple executive departures; a major intellectual property lawsuit between itself and Waymo, the self-driving car outfit owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company; defections by customers over links between chief executive Travis Kalanick and the Trump administration; and a federal probe into an internal application Uber used to circumvent regulatory officials in various cities.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...eu-court-adviser-says/?utm_term=.0f048c974da3


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

2017, the begining of the end....


Nothing is going uber's way

*dances until his leg falls off..*


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> 2017, the begining of the end....
> 
> Nothing is going uber's way
> 
> *dances until his leg falls off..*


Of course it's a taxi company. Just because you hail a ride by the push of a button instead of talking to a dispatcher, just because your payment is on file instead of hard payment at the end of the trip and just because the drivers are legal through a third party insurer instead of providing individual commercial insurance doesn't mean this is a new unthought of business. It's still FARE FOR HIRE. A customer is transported from one destination to another for compensation. It's been an American business since the stagecoach days of 150 years ago. It's just too bad Uber's compensation is about 1/3 that of a traditional taxi.


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## d0n (Oct 16, 2016)

So it took them this long to see that?

They don't do shit to make their tech show beyond the point of making a matchmaker in an app, that's "tech" to most of the morons who run this country.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

d0n said:


> So it took them this long to see that?
> 
> They don't do shit to make their tech show beyond the point of making a matchmaker in an app, that's "tech" to most of the morons who run this country.


Even if uber WAS found to be a "tech" company the EU could still declare that all uber drivers are 1 man transportation companies, and hold them to the same standards that they hold taxis/black car services.


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## Brooklyn (Jul 29, 2014)

I really can't believe it's 2017 and Uber has been around for 8 years and people are still discussing whether or not if it's a tech company or app company.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Brooklyn said:


> I really can't believe it's 2017 and Uber has been around for 8 years and people are still discussing whether or not if it's a tech company or app company.


That's because Uber argues vehemently against being a transportation company, to avoid licensing.


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## Brooklyn (Jul 29, 2014)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> That's because Uber argues vehemently against being a transportation company, to avoid licensing.


I know what Uber has done and does.. just I can't believe there's people that actually believe it.


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## Berliner (Oct 29, 2014)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> That's because Uber argues vehemently against being a transportation company, to avoid licensing.


Correct. Here in the EU and everywhere.

They got it in writing from different courts in the EU that they are a trans co and had done what they always do: appeal, appeal, appeal.

This court is normally the last step in EU, maybe they´ll try the European Court of Human Rights.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Berliner said:


> Correct. Here in the EU and everywhere.
> 
> They got it in writing from different courts in the EU that they are a trans co and had done what they always do: appeal, appeal, appeal.
> 
> This court is normally the last step in EU, maybe they´ll try the European Court of Human Rights.


Ich Bin Ein Berlin.
Boy, we could sure use a JFK in this 2017 world.


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## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

Europe is kinda cool in that, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, smells like a duck, it's definitely a DUCK.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

It would crack me up if uber got declared a tech company than europe turned around and said every driver needs to be treated like a transportation company...


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Brooklyn said:


> I know what Uber has done and does.. just I can't believe there's people that actually believe it.


Because it was on the Internet. Don't you believe everything you read on the Internet?


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Because it was on the Internet. Don't you believe everything you read on the Internet?


I would beleive the washington post on the subject... I think they have a reputation granting them that sort of trust.

Jimmy Joes HailShare blog, not so much.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

as soon as Uber introduced pool and stopped being simply an alleged middleman it gave up it's right to hide behind the "only a technology company" moniker


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## OverTheBarrell (May 7, 2017)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Even if uber WAS found to be a "tech" company the EU could still declare that all uber drivers are 1 man transportation companies, and hold them to the same standards that they hold taxis/black car services.


In Western Australia.. that is the case .. all Uber Cars are legally registered as Chauffeur/ Hire Car status.. if not ... well the WA Gov will fine you and make take your car (impound)


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## DRider85 (Nov 19, 2016)

Yes Uber is not much of a technology company as of yet. It's a company that uses an app, that doesn't even have a tipping function. They didn't invent the iPhone. I don't understand why they feel the need to use bits and atoms in their logo (it doesn't even look like bits and atoms.) Why do they feel like representing themselves as something they are not? Nowadays many companies use an App. Uber is not special. Why don't Tinder and Postmates use the bit and atom logo too? But then again, that's Uber for you. Nontransparent. When has Uber ever been transparent about anything?


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## Bandy (Jul 26, 2016)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> 2017, the begining of the end....
> 
> Nothing is going uber's way
> 
> *dances until his leg falls off..*


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## TheLastMile (May 15, 2017)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> That's because Uber argues vehemently against being a transportation company, to avoid licensing.


Uber argues it is not a transportation co bc it is NOT. It is a tech co, garnering valuable highway logistics info that they sell to the US dept of transportation for 40 x the amount they make on ridesharing. Wake up. Why do you think they want driverless cars? Routes PEOPLE TAKE...not getting ppl here to there...the ROUTE matters!


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

TheLastMile said:


> Uber argues it is not a transportation co bc it is NOT. It is a tech co, garnering valuable highway logistics info that they sell to the US dept of transportation for 40 x the amount they make on ridesharing. Wake up. Why do you think they want driverless cars? Routes PEOPLE TAKE...not getting ppl here to there...the ROUTE matters!


Uber can't sell anything to anyone. This is the line they are spinning to gullible investors now that rideshare doesn't profit and will never show anything other than a loss and autonomous cars are not remotely close.
They need to spin something. No one has purchased any information off of them no one is going to purchase anything off of them. Ubers 68 billion dollar valuation now looks exactly how people who do maths good have always said that it looks.


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## TheLastMile (May 15, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> Uber can't sell anything to anyone. This is the line they are spinning to gullible investors now that rideshare doesn't profit and will never show anything other than a loss and autonomous cars are not remotely close.
> They need to spin something. No one has purchased any information off of them no one is going to purchase anything off of them. Ubers 68 billion dollar valuation now looks exactly how people who do maths good have always said that it looks.


Dream on. I got this info firsthand, directly from the exec. It wasn't a sales pitch to me. You might want to open your mind a bit. Logistics information is tres valuable.


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## TheFixer1 (Jan 29, 2017)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Ich Bin Ein Berlin.
> Boy, we could sure use a JFK in this 2017 world.


JFK was assassinated because he wanted to eradicate the FED, which is as Federal as Federal Express, the big globalist elite corporations of today who are run by vicious phsycopaths joined to the hip with the globalist banksters who run the FED would make sure anyone trying to fight their nefarious ways would not see the light of day.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

TheLastMile said:


> Uber argues it is not a transportation co bc it is NOT. It is a tech co, garnering valuable highway logistics info that they sell to the US dept of transportation for 40 x the amount they make on ridesharing. Wake up. Why do you think they want driverless cars? Routes PEOPLE TAKE...not getting ppl here to there...the ROUTE matters!


Ok then.
Let's point out how you just contradicted yourself.
"Uber wants Driverless cars, this is why they (datamine) routes PEOPLE take".
Once SDCs get approved (which they won't because Waymo is suing the pants off Uber for stealing SDC intellectual property), even if Uber starts all over with non Waymo tech and gets SDCs approved, that's still a route to dispatching TAXIS which perform TRANSPORTATION.

Use that brain. It probably won't blow up.


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## TheLastMile (May 15, 2017)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Ok then.
> Let's point out how you just contradicted yourself.
> "Uber wants Driverless cars, this is why they (datamine) routes PEOPLE take".
> Once SDCs get approved (which they won't because Waymo is suing the pants off Uber for stealing SDC intellectual property), even if Uber starts all over with non Waymo tech and gets SDCs approved, that's still a route to dispatching TAXIS which perform TRANSPORTATION.
> ...


Awww, I'm sorry. Was my concept too difficult for you to understand? No drivers needed, bc Uber merely needs cars that drive routes where ppl go. I think your brain probably ALREADY blew up/blew out/possibly never fully formed.

And, "Uber wants Driverless cars, this is why they (datamine) routes PEOPLE take". What???? Did you get through high school English class?  Uber datamines ppl routes bc Uber wants driverless cars??????? Will datamining the routes somehow give Uber driverless cars??? Wow...you call others dummy???? lol



TheFixer1 said:


> JFK was assassinated because he wanted to eradicate the FED, which is as Federal as Federal Express, the big globalist elite corporations of today who are run by vicious phsycopaths joined to the hip with the globalist banksters who run the FED would make sure anyone trying to fight their nefarious ways would not see the light of day.


Seriously? I always love how those who have made a contracted little life for themselves blame those who ascended to the top. The psychopaths (that's the correct spelling, by the way) provided a world where you have a new enough car that you can drive for Uber and make whatever $$ you want and spend it on frivolous shit you don't actually need, like TVs, for instance.... so you can come home from the unfulfilling job your work due to your life choices, park it in your recliner and watch programming that appeals to all of those lapping up all the junk the commercials allow you to be familiarized with. They also created an environment where you, if you were smart enough and ambitious enough, could join them at the top.


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## TheFixer1 (Jan 29, 2017)

TheLastMile said:


> Awww, I'm sorry. Was my concept too difficult for you to understand? No drivers needed, bc Uber merely needs cars that drive routes where ppl go. I think your brain probably ALREADY blew up/blew out/possibly never fully formed.
> 
> And, "Uber wants Driverless cars, this is why they (datamine) routes PEOPLE take". What???? Did you get through high school English class?  Uber datamines ppl routes bc Uber wants driverless cars??????? Will datamining the routes somehow give Uber driverless cars??? Wow...you call others dummy???? lol
> 
> Seriously? I always love how those who have made a contracted little life for themselves blame those who ascended to the top. The psychopaths (that's the correct spelling, by the way) provided a world where you have a new enough car that you can drive for Uber and make whatever $$ you want and spend it on frivolous shit you don't actually need, like TVs, for instance.... so you can come home from the unfulfilling job your work due to your life choices, park it in your recliner and watch programming that appeals to all of those lapping up all the junk the commercials allow you to be familiarized with. They also created an environment where you, if you were smart enough and ambitious enough, could join them at the top.


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