In the past, the mobility platform Uber worked primarily with rental car companies. But the company is increasingly seeking partnerships with taxi companies.
The ride-hailing service Uber is opening its app to all taxi companies across Germany. Up until now, it was only possible to book rides with Uber in 16 German cities. From now on, taxi drivers and rental car companies can use Uber to book rides nationwide. This would enable the companies to tap into additional sources of revenue and significantly increase their capacity utilization and sales without monthly membership fees or long-term contracts, the company explained.
Uber changed its strategy worldwide months ago. Originally, Uber mainly arranged the services of taxi competitors. The company is now trying to get taxi drivers onto its platform. In cities like Berlin and Munich, taxis can already be booked using the app of the US-founded company. According to Uber, around 20 percent of all taxis in the capital already cooperate with the platform. There are more than 4,000 taxi drivers across Germany.
Easier order placement
Christoph Weigler, Uber’s Germany boss, said that by opening the app to all taxi drivers across Germany, Uber is underlining its interest in being a partner of the taxi industry in Germany. “Taxis can also benefit from digitization, active advertising for customers and the high demand on our platform.” Digital booking of services has become the standard. “With the Uber app, we offer the technological solution and provide taxi drivers with additional orders in a simple and transparent way.”
With its new nationwide service, Uber is competing with traditional taxi-hailing centers that arrange trips for taxi drivers. But Uber’s service is also competing with platforms such as Bolt and Freenow, which primarily arrange the services of rental car companies. The traditional taxi industry, such as the Berlin Taxi Guild, accuses these rental car companies of not adhering to legal regulations and, in some cases, of committing welfare fraud.
Uber emphasized that it only cooperates with local, licensed taxi and rental car companies that provide the transportation service. “The drivers of the partner companies all have a passenger transport license and meet all the requirements for commercial passenger transport. All trips are therefore fully insured.”
Source: Stern
