Israel's Ministry of Transport filed an indictment against Uber in the Tel Aviv Transport Court last week for operating its taxi payment service without a license. The Ministry of Transport also filed indictments against seven drivers for using the company's app - one of the drivers is Uber Israel CEO Yoni Greifman.
The Ministry of Transport said that the charge sheet had been filed following a covert investigation lasting several months by the National Public Transport Authority's Inspectors and Investigations Division. During the probe, investigators had impersonated passengers and traveled in cars using the Uber app.
Uber Israel faces three charges: not having an employment license, not having an operations license, and transporting passengers for payment.
Uber's services in Israel, which are not provided by taxi drivers, are supposedly given only in exchange for covering expenses. The service, which is called Uber Night, is mainly provided in hours when there are no effective public transport alternatives, with a stress on weekends. The service is provided by an app, which has different terms of use to UberX, which requires drivers to pay Uber a 25% fee.
The Ministry of Transport claims that the fares charged by drivers operating the Uber Night service were higher than merely reimbursing expenses so that the service was illegal.
In addition to Uber Night, licensed Israeli taxi drivers have also been using Uber, mainly for tourists used to the Uber taxi service.
Uber said in response, "The Uber Night pilot program was built in accordance with Israeli regulation and resembles other apps used in the Israeli market for recouping expenses. Passengers and drivers in Israel already enjoy the Uber Night service during hours when there are limited public transport alternatives and Uber is committed to continue operating in order to cut fares for Israeli passengers."
MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said, "Instead of working towards improving public transport and arrangement for ridesharing initiatives, the Ministry of Transport prefers to hound drivers and prosecute them because they have adapted to the 21st century and joined the cooperative economy trend that is growing worldwide. This is exactly the opposite of what they should be doing and demonstration the distorted approach of the Ministry of Transport."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 24, 2017
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