Due to a new legal situation, the conditions of Uber trips are similar to those of taxi trips. Does this mean the end for Uber in Vienna?
The price advantage that Uber and Bolt had over other travel service providers on the market is now a thing of the past. From now on, Uber trips in Vienna are only possible at the same rates as conventional taxi trips. For customers, this sometimes means twice as high fares.
The reason for this is an amendment to the law: On January 1, 2021, new rules for the Occasional Traffic Act (“GelverkG”) came into force, in which taxi and rental car businesses are aligned.
In the Uber app, the new “taxi option” only offers regular taxi rides, as reported by Trending Topics. Since Uber and Bolt can no longer calculate flexible prices based on distance, traffic and demand, the downward price competition is to be prevented. This eliminates one of the central functions of the app. At the moment, only trips with a taximeter are possible according to the taxi tariff. The Uber app estimates a price, but the final price is only known at the end of the journey. The prescribed basic fee in Vienna is 6.60 euros. Due to the amendment to the law and the resulting amalgamation of the taxi and rental car businesses, rental car drivers must also copy the taxi driver's license. Compared to before, there are currently fewer Uber drivers available.
But Uber wants to fully resume operations in Austria in March, as Uber Austria boss Martin Essl explains to Leadersnet: “The new law will also create an opportunity for mobility service providers like Uber to remain in Austria we are temporarily pausing our UberX service until the flexible tariffs come into effect on March 1, 2021. ” Because from that point on there is the possibility of a previously agreed flat rate. Until then, Uber drivers cannot offer a cheaper rate than taxis. The fear that Uber will withdraw completely from Austria should not come true.
