Uber scales back Greek operations after law clampdown
Ride-hailing service Uber on Thursday said it would suspend one of its two services in Greece after the approval of tighter sector rules.
The San-Francisco based company said it would sideline from April 10 a service employing private drivers, which has sparked protests from cabbies in Greece and other European countries.
"New local regulations were voted on recently with provisions that impact ride-sharing services," Uber said on its blog.
"We have to assess if and how we can operate within this new framework and so will be suspending uberX in Athens from next Tuesday until we can find an appropriate solution."
The new rules approved by parliament in March require the company to name a local administrator and register its drivers and their vehicles with the transport ministry, setting stiff fines for failure to do so.
Uber began operations in Greece in late 2014 and until present ran UberX with private drivers, and UberTAXI with professional cabbies.
Ride-hailing services have met with protests in Europe—including recently in Athens, Brussels and Madrid—and varying levels of resistance from authorities in cities around the world.
© 2018 AFP
