Taxis
The European Commission’s mobility department has published new regulatory guidance for taxi services in the EU that ETSC says is a missed opportunity to improve safety in the sector. The new rules have almost no mention of measures to improve the safety standards for drivers, vehicles or passengers despite ‘safe local mobility for citizens’ being mentioned in the scope. According to an ETSC report published in 2016, taxi safety is similar to private cars, yet taxi drivers and their managers have a professional responsibility […]
The app-based taxi service Uber will require its younger drivers to undertake mandatory safety training with Safe Traffic Netherlands, a road safety NGO, following a series of deaths where Uber drivers were involved. Four deaths involving the company’s vehicles occurred in a six-week period, prompting urgent discussions with the company. According to Safe Traffic Netherlands, Uber has now taken measures to ensure that their drivers are limited in how long they can drive using the app. The minimum age to be employed as an […]
In a significant ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union has said that services such as Uber must be considered as a transport service, and regulated by EU Member States as such. In 2014, a professional taxi drivers’ association in Barcelona brought a legal action in Spain seeking a court declaration that the activities of Uber Spain amount to misleading practices and acts of unfair competition. The Spanish court first needed to decide whether or not Uber was in fact a transport […]
The taxi service Uber has announced it is trialling technology to track the speed, acceleration and braking of its drivers using smartphone sensors. The company describes the process as designed to help verify complaints from passengers of poor driving but says it has broader plans to ensure drivers maintain appropriate speeds and are not distracted. The US-based company announced in November that it would create a permanent global safety advisory board to oversee the safety and personal security issues related to the service. ETSC […]