Germany: Giving Uber a second chance

Germany’s anti-monopoly commission is warming up to Uber and other car sharing services, but recommends limits on surge pricing, they announced Monday.

In Germany, opposition by taxi drivers’ unions to car sharing apps is deep and trenchant. The unions are particularly opposed to Uber, and have declared war on the U.S. company’s dynamic pricing algorithm, which adjusts the per kilometer rate taxi passengers pay depending on demand for taxi or Uber rides. When demand is high, trips generally increase in price; but when demand is low, trips that are currently fixed in price would cost significantly less.

German taxi unions were able to convince a court in Frankfurt to ban Uber’s service for part of September 2014.

Germany’s anti-monopoly commission, has suggested a compromise that would allow for the use of Uber’s technology and seek to generate additional revenue for taxi drivers.

The compromise proposal would end rules banning out-of-region taxi drivers from picking up passengers at airports. It would also end fixed taxi fares, but impose caps on services like Uber’s controversial “surge” pricing system. That system came under fire when Uber raised prices by 400% during the December 2014 Sydney terrorist attack.

Full Content: DW

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