Traditional taxi services have protested against Uber in several cities. (source: AP/TASR)
The US alternative taxi service Uber will appeal against a court order banning it from operating its taxi service in Slovakia via people and vehicles that fail to meet the requirements set by Slovak legislation. Miroslava Jozová, Uber’s spokeswoman for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, has informed.
The Bratislava I District Court failed to deliver the decision on the injunction correctly leaving room for appeal.
“The court informed us that the decision was not delivered correctly, so we now have the opportunity to appeal against it,” said Jozová, as cited by the TASR newswire on April 13. “At this point we are analysing the court’s decision and we will make an appeal as soon as possible because we believe that services such as Uber should be a standard part of the options for mobility in every modern city.”
Uber intends to do its utmost to return to Bratislava as soon as possible. Before its services were banned by the 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 people and vehicles that fail to meet the 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. The Bratislava I District Court issued the 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 via 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 since it appeared on the Slovak market more than two years ago. 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.
