Uber to Appeal against Court Ban from Operating Taxi Service
Bratislava, April 13 (TASR) – Uber will appeal against a court ban from operating its taxi service in Slovakia via people and vehicles that fail to meet the requirements set by Slovak legislation, Miroslava Jozova, Uber’s spokeswoman for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, has confirmed for TASR.
“At the moment we’re analysing the court’s verdict, and we’ll appeal against it as soon as possible, as we believe that services like Uber should be a standard part of mobility in every modern town,” stated Jozova.
Uber intends to do its utmost to be able to return to Bratislava as soon as possible. Before its services were banned by a court, Uber was the most popular city mobility application in Bratislava, claims Jozova. “A survey showed that over 80 percent of people in the Slovak capital want our application to remain here and function,” she said.
Uber had to stop operating its taxi service in Slovakia, as it uses persons and vehicles that fail to meet requirements set by Slovak legislation. It’s also been banned from operating its taxi service with drivers that fail to meet the same conditions required from taxi drivers. Bratislava I District Court issued a respective verdict in mid-February, and the company switched off its mobile application in Slovakia on March 27.
The court’s decision was the result of a complaint filed by the Civic Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers (OZKT) against Uber in January. The association described this as the logical outcome of its several-month fight for equality in business in the field of taxi services. “The court fully identified itself with our claims, thus confirming the fact that Uber was operating taxi services through drivers and vehicles that are at odds with Slovak legislation and harm the business environment,” OZKT representatives told TASR in March.
Over 100,000 users have registered with the Uber application in the more than two years since it appeared on the Slovak market. Bratislava taxi drivers have repeatedly protested against Uber since its arrival, claiming that it was ignoring Slovak legislation and that with its extremely low prices, the service was distorting the business environment.
