At first it seemed as if the way was clear for Uber in Germany. Andreas Scheuer (CSU), Federal Minister of Transport for the past legislative period, presented a key issues paper in 2019 that was intended to redefine the rules of the game for traffic in Germany. The paper stipulated that pooling services would for the first time be able to collect passengers with similar destinations on the streets and transport them together, so rental car drivers like those from Uber would no longer have to return to the headquarters between trips. Scheuer himself called his amendment to the Passenger Transport Act “a huge opportunity”.
The basic features of this law have existed since the 1960s. In the years before, it had become something like Uber’s final opponent after German courts had repeatedly attested violations to the company after its aggressive market entry.
As the Uber files show, Uber wanted early on to allow drivers to take other people with them for money without having to purchase a passenger transport license – as in the classic taxi industry – or having to prove in an exam that they know their way around the city in question . In addition, the passage that every Uber driver should return to Uber’s headquarters before the next trip should be deleted. Like taxis, Uber cars should be allowed to pick up passengers en route. According to Scheuer’s key issues paper, that is exactly what should now come true.
The taxi drivers feared for their market position
But as soon as the paper became public, the taxi associations ran into a storm. Taxi drivers – previously protected from competition by the Passenger Transport Act – feared for their market position. And demonstrated loudly in front of the Federal Ministry of Transport and at the Brandenburg Gate against the plans from Scheuer’s house. “They were ready for a riot,” says a member of the Bundestag who was involved in the negotiations at the time. Upon request, the taxi associations confirmed that they had contacted the Federal Minister of Transport, as well as reporters and transport politicians at federal, state or local level, accompanied demonstrations and hired a communications agency for around 100,000 euros.
As a result, a so-called “finding commission” was set up with representatives from the federal and state governments – and now not only the taxi drivers, but also Uber have upgraded. Between 2019 and 2021, when the amendment to the Passenger Transport Act was then passed, there were regular meetings and talks with lobby representatives of the travel agencies, but also with trade unions and associations, confirm participants in the SZ search committee. While the taxi associations were more listened to by representatives of the grand coalition, who insisted on social standards in the negotiations and did not want to grant any exceptions for driving services such as Uber, Uber found allies among the representatives of the FDP in the demand for the opening of the market. But with mediocre success. “Uber wanted complete liberalization and failed miserably,” says a participant at the time. The liberal negotiators were accordingly disappointed by the compromise.
Uber is struggling with the new version of the law
Because in some important points for them, the travel agent and the FDP ultimately did not prevail. Uber drivers are still required to return to the facility after the trip is complete, and are also not allowed to accept any connecting trips en route. Nor can they simply pick up passengers spontaneously or stand in neuralgic places in a city and wait for customers. However, it is now also possible that further parking points can be named beyond the business premises, which the drivers can head for.
For this, two other points that Uber had fought for were changed. For the first time ever, a legal basis was created for digital journey brokers and shuttle services. In addition, the so-called local knowledge test for the drivers of Uber taxis has also been abolished. You no longer have to prove that you know your way around Berlin, Munich or Hamburg. On the contrary, even drivers with local knowledge now always have to use a navigation system. Uber itself is struggling with the new version of the law: it is not a major reform. The obligation to return has been retained, but the very strict conditions for creating further return locations mean in practice that this option is not used, it is said on request.
In any case, what matters now is the implementation of the regulations, in which the federal states and local authorities have a great deal of leeway. The obligation to return, for example, could be checked by the supervisory authorities through random inspection of digital logbooks – it is questionable whether there are enough staff for this at all.