The ridesharing company returned on Thursday (Feb. 20) with a new service that allows customers to rent cars with drivers. They had only been gone for 20 days.
The ridesharing app was exiled from the Andean country after regulators said Uber was stifling competition there. Uber said the decision was arbitrary.
In December, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC), which regulates fair commerce practices in Colombia, said Uber had violated competition rules. Uber said it was considering taking its complaint to international judges. The company noted that Colombia had violated an agreement between them, and that damages from having to stop driving there could exceed $250 million.
In a statement, Uber said it has been seeking alternatives to help Colombians use ridesharing services. According to the company, the new service will allow users to rent a vehicle with a driver, with a contract between the two parties detailing the terms of the agreement. Users will have the option to rent by the hour and to choose between an economy or an extra-large car.
In December, a lawsuit was leveled against Uber saying that the company’s Colombian services had been operating without meeting requirements for public transport companies, which made it unfair to other such companies operating in the country.
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However, tech companies claim that Colombia’s rules are outdated and may hinder the country’s angle as a destination for foreign investment in the future.
Uber has 88,000 drivers in Colombia and more than two million riders.
One driver quoted by Reuters, who goes by Ferney, said he was glad Uber was back in the country because it offered the best earnings potential among the various ridesharing apps.
