Uber driver convicted

Last year, the Brussels court decided that Uber, a mobile app through which private individuals can offer low-priced rides to users, was not allowed to operate in the capital. Moreover, the official taxi industry has always strongly opposed the service. Taxi drivers are speaking of unfair competition.

After the introduction of the ban, Brussels police impounded 26 Uber cars. Ultimately, at the end of March, an Uber driver was taken to court for the first time, for essentially driving a taxi without an official permit. The driver's lawyer has always opposed this verdict, claiming that Uber is not a public service, but rather a carpooling initiative involving an agreement between the driver and the user.

But the judge would not be appeased: he declared the driver guilty of violating taxi policy. "Carpooling implies two people covering the same route from A to B without there being any payment involved", decided the judge. "Uber meets neither of these criteria. The argument that Uber isn't a public service because it only serves app users is flawed as well, because anyone can download the app and become part of the Uber community."

Consequently, the police court decided that, indeed, Uber is a taxi service. This means that Uber drivers have to abide by official taxi policy. Legislators were especially worried about there being no guarantee for a safe, skilled and healthy driver, or for a technically certified and fully insured vehicle.

So now the accused Uber driver has been convicted. However, the court suspended his sentence because it was only his first conviction. His car, on the other hand, was confiscated. The driver's lawyer was disappointed about the verdict and is considering to take the case to the Court of Appeal.