It looks like the brakes has been applied on Uber, the extremely popular service that allows folks to hail a ride from point A to point B in an efficient, albeit slightly more expensive manner. The German court has issued a nationwide ban on Uber, which means this service is no longer available for operation in Germany, making this one of the heaviest legal restrictions that uber has come across ever since it came into existence half a decade ago.
Uber, a San Francisco-based company, has also faced legal setbacks in Europe as well as in North America as it soughts to expand its service worldwide. A state court in Frankfurt banned UberPop, which is Uber’s budget oriented product that will hook up drivers with potential customers, as the state court continues to mull over the notion that such a service provides unfair competition with local taxis. There was a temporary injunction which was ordered last week as it became public yesterday.
Despite the latest legal setback, Uber said that they will continue to operate in Germany, and will file an appeal against the court’s decision. There is the risk of Uber facing up to a 250,000 Euro fine in Germany, with its local employees sent to the slammer for half a year if the temporary injunction is violated.