The transport service provider Uber is opening its app to all taxi companies throughout Germany, whereas until now, it was only possible to book journeys with Uber in 16 German cities.
Taxi drivers and car-hire companies will now be able to use Uber nationwide. This would allow companies to tap into additional sources of revenue without monthly membership fees or long-term contracts and significantly increase their capacity utilization and turnover, the company explained.
Uber already changed its global strategy months ago. Originally, Uber primarily brokered the services of competitors to taxis. The company is now also trying to attract taxi drivers to its platform. In cities such as Berlin and Munich, taxis can already be booked via the US-founded company's app.
According to Uber, around 20% of all taxis in the capital are already working with the platform. Across Germany, there are more than 4,000 taxi drivers.
Christoph Weigler, head of Uber Germany, said that by opening the app to all taxi drivers across Germany, Uber was emphasizing its interest in being a partner to the taxi industry in Germany.
"Taxis can also benefit from digitalization, active advertising for customers and the high demand on our platform," the company said. The digital booking of services has become the standard. "With the Uber app, we offer the technological solution and provide taxi drivers with additional orders simply and transparently."
The German Taxi and Rental Car Association is sceptical about working with Uber. Cooperation can only be considered between serious business partners and "there are considerable doubts about Uber," Michael Oppermann, managing director of the association, said in an interview with broadcaster RTL/ntv.
Oppermann referred to incidents in Berlin, where around a third of Uber partner companies were shut down by the city's administration due to illegal structures and organized crime. "And Uber has to clean up its act first," he said.
Oppermann emphasized that individual companies would certainly enter into cooperation, but Uber is still miles away from the kind of nationwide coverage offered by the taxi industry. The association is watching with interest how Uber is trying to "embrace" the taxi, he said.
However: "Our hearts haven't quite warmed to this service yet," Oppermann added.
With its new nationwide service, Uber is competing with traditional taxi call centres that arrange tours for taxi drivers. But the Uber service also competes with platforms such as Bolt, which primarily broker the services of car-hire companies.
The traditional taxi industry, such as the Berlin Taxi Guild, accuses these hire-car companies of not complying with legal regulations and in some cases committing social fraud. However, Uber also competes with the Freenow platform, which has primarily organized taxi rides since it was founded in 2009.
Uber stressed that it only cooperates with local, licensed taxi and hire-car companies that provide the transport service.
"Without exception, the drivers of the partner companies have a passenger transport licence and meet all the requirements for commercial passenger transport. All journeys are therefore fully insured," Uber said.
