This week's top three: German police refusing to enforce e-scooter law, Uber threatens to pull out of Austria in ride hailing regulation row, wide-ranging mobility law passed by French National Assembly.
1. German police union says no additional checks will be carried out on e-scooters
Oliver Malchow, the head of Germany’s police union, has said that no additional checks will be carried out by officers regarding e-scooters after the vehicles are rolled out across Germany. An enabling ordinance is already in force, and operators are currently in the process of applying for licences, meaning that scooters will probably be rolled out en masse in early July. Malchow stated that, whilst more road controls would help to curb traffic accidents of all kinds, the police do not currently have the capacity to introduce them. Violations of the new e-scooter regulations will result in fines of at least €70.
2. Uber threatens to withdraw from Austria in pricing dispute
Uber has threatened to stop operating in Austria if a new law, which would subject it to the same pricing laws as taxis, is adopted. Uber, which is classified as a mietwagen (rental) service in Austria, is free to set its own prices, whereas taxis have their prices regulated by Austria’s provinces. The proposed law, which would come into force in September 2020, would oblige Uber to apply the same tariffs as taxis. Martin Essl, Uber’s Country Manager for Austria, has said: “We probably cannot continue with this backward looking amendment.”
3. French National Assembly adopts new mobility law
The National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, has adopted the Mobility Orientation Law. The law covers a range of mobility issues. Under the adopted text, car sharing vehicles can benefit from “privileged traffic conditions”, Mobility-as-a-Service platforms will have to adopt transparent and objective ranking criteria for transport services, and employees who travel to work in shared vehicles or via active travel can be rewarded with vouchers for shared mobility services like carpooling. A joint committee of representatives from the Assembly and the Senate, France’s upper house, will now be formed to finalise amendments to the law.
This is a weekly note covering the top three developments in the regulation of on-demand transport in Europe. It covers taxis, ride-sharing, car sharing, carpooling, bikes, e-bikes, scooters, shared mopeds and anything else that's relevant to the sector.
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Topics: Transport, Sharing economy, Collaborative economy, Sharing and on-demand transport, Top 3 Mobility Stories This Week, Mobility
Written by David Abrahams
David’s is an experienced public affairs practitioner with a background in competition regulation and a particular focus on technology, mobility, telecoms and internet infrastructure. He leads Inline's mobility practice.
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