Bans in Netherlands, New Delhi deal new blows to Uber taxi service - The Globe and Mail

It’s been a bad day for Uber, with authorities on two continents hitting the car-sharing service with new bans on its operations.

Monday’s decision by the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal, which Uber has vowed to appeal, bans the car-sharing service from taking bookings in the Netherlands via its smartphone app. The decision could leave the car-sharing service with fines of up to €100,000 ($122,650 U.S.).

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In New Delhi, Uber has been forbidden from operating in the Indian capital after a female passenger accused one of its drivers of rape.

WHAT IS UBER?

Launched in California four years ago, the service has rapidly become popular in a number of countries because it often undercuts established taxi and minicab services.

However, taxi drivers across Europe say Uber breaks local taxi rules and violates licensing, insurance and safety regulations. It has faced legal action in Germany and a number of European capitals. In Toronto last month, the city sought an injunction against the company in provincial court after an undercover investigation found what the city concluded were “real and urgent” safety problems with the service.

(Read more: Inside Toronto’s Uber investigation)

THE DUTCH BAN

The tribunal in The Hague ordered Uber to stop providing the service known as UberPop, which it said broke a law requiring that drivers have a special licence. Drivers could face fines of €10,000 for each violation, up to a maximum of €40,000, the court said.

“This is only the first step in a long-running legal battle,” Uber said in a statement.

Uber had asked the Dutch court to overturn a government-imposed ban and fines for use of UberPop, the smartphone application used to arrange rides. “We believe were are offering a service within the spirit of the law. We will continue to offer safe, competitive, quality services to consumers,” said spokesman Thomas van Oortmerssen.

THE INDIAN BAN

The accusations of rape against an Uber driver have reignited a debate about the safety of women in the South Asian nation.

Police said the 32-year-old driver dropped the woman home after attacking her and warned her not to inform the authorities. She managed to note the driver’s number and take a photograph of his car, they said.

The arrested driver, Shiv Kumar Yadav, appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody for three days.

Uber, which had employed the driver even though he had been arrested on allegations of sexual assault three years ago, would be blacklisted from providing any future services in the New Delhi area, the city’s transport department said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Uber said she could not immediately comment.

Indian police said they were considering legal action against the taxi service for failing to run background checks on the driver. The company said there were no defined rules in India on background checks for commercial transport licenses and it was working with the government to address the issue.

“What happened over the weekend in New Delhi is horrific,” Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive officer, said in a statement before the ban. “We will do everything, I repeat, everything to help bring this perpetrator to justice.”

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