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Germany: Uber walks away from Frankfurt

By  |  January 4, 2016

Uber has shut down its office in Frankfurt, Germany after just eighteen months of operations. However, the ride-sharing service has not completely withdrawn from Germany, and continues to operate licensed services in Berlin and Munich.

In early November 2015, Uber retreated from Frankfurt, which has a population less than that of Uber’s hometown of San Francisco. Uber’s low-cost service UberPop, similar to UberX in the U.S., had relied on unlicensed drivers.

But Uberpop faced legal challenges and was banned in March 2015 by a German court from running services using unlicensed cab drivers. Germany has tough transport rules that involve security checks, health exams and state-issued licenses for all taxi operators.

Uber also pulled out of the German cities of Hamburg and Dusseldorf last year, after less than two years of operations in those cities.

Full content: The New York Times

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