Top 3 On-Demand Mobility Stories in Europe - 7 Feb 2019

by David Abrahams on 07 Feb 2019

This week's top 3 stories: UK review of regulation of micromobility "within weeks", another week/another regulation for ride hailing in Spain, and a crackdown on the gig economy is promised in Geneva. 

1. UK Transport Minister promises policy review "within weeks"

Speaking at the inaugural Smart Transport conference in London, Transport Minister Jesse Norman MP, announced that the government's Urban Mobility Strategy would be published very shortly. The Minister also made clear that the strategy would include a review of the regulatory rules for all forms of urban transport, including e-bikes, electric scooters, mopeds, etc. The strategy is also likely to include the Government's long awaited response to the Task and Finish Report on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, which has been a concern for many local authorities across England. We expect to see a number of new consultations being launched alongside the strategy.

2. Piecemeal regulation of private hire vehicles continues in Spain

The devolved and messy regulation of private hire vehicles in Spain continues apace this week. Taxis drivers in Madrid have called off their strike despite their demands not being met. Meanwhile the Galician Government has said that ride-hailing vehicles will have to display stickers stating which companies they are operating with from this spring. Taxi drivers in the Autonomous Community of Valencia have written a series of demands and presented them to the regional government, in which they have called for the imposition of a 12 hour waiting period between the scheduling of a ride-hailing journey and the journey taking place. Finally, new rules have been proposed in the Basque Country which have reportedly received the blessing of taxi drivers and VTC companies. Rides must be scheduled at least one hour in advance under the new rules.

3. Crackdown on gig economy companies promised in Geneva 

Councillor Mauro Poggia, a member of the National Council (equivalent to an MP) and a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Geneva, where he has responsibility employment and health, has compared the arrival of foreign gig economy companies to a "barbarian invasion" and said that Geneva will tackle companies operating in the sector. Poggia has stated that ride hailing companies will no longer be able to use non-professional drivers as part of their service and has also said that he will legislate against food delivery services such as Uber Eats.

This is a weekly note from Inline Policy's Mobility Policy and Regulation Team, it covers 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. If you'd like to receive this direct to your inbox then please enter your email address below:

Topics: Transport, Sharing economy, Sharing and on-demand transport, Top 3 Mobility Stories This Week, Mobility

David Abrahams

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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