Uber must largely stop in Brussels from Friday evening after the judge’s ruling

The Brussels Court of Appeal has ruled that Uber drivers with only a VVB permit will not be allowed to transport customers in Brussels from Friday evening. According to Uber, this concerns 95 percent of its drivers in the Belgian capital.

The Brussels Court of Appeal made this ruling on Wednesday, Belgian media such as the time. The court ruled that an old ruling against taxi platform “UberPop” now also applies to the US Transportation Service.

Taxi organizations have complained to Uber in 2014, because they felt it was unfair for Uber drivers to be allowed to provide their services without a taxi license. The court ruled in favor of the taxi organizations at the time, after which Uber overhauled its platform in Brussels to “UberX”. Then the company saw itself as a limousine service, which meant that Uber drivers in Brussels had to have a so-called VVB permit.

However, today the Brussels Court of Appeal ruled that the ruling against UberPop also applies to drivers with a VVB licence. That’s why only Uber drivers who applied for a taxi permit after January 1, 2020 are allowed to remain active in Brussels. Standard. The service has 2,000 drivers in the Belgian capital, and according to Uber, about 5 percent of them have a taxi licence.

The ruling goes into effect Friday evening, November 26 at 6 p.m. From that point on, Uber risks fines if it rides with VVB drivers. Brussels government She was sentenced earlier this year Although Uber drivers in Brussels are no longer allowed to accept orders via their smartphones.

Uber responded to Belgian media that the ruling was based on “outdated regulations that predated the arrival of smartphones”. The company says the Belgian government “promised seven years ago to fix it”. The transport service also says it is concerned that many of its drivers in Brussels “will lose the opportunity to generate income” from Friday. According to De Standaard, Uber drivers in Brussels have announced protests.