The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday, 9 Kislev, ruled against Uber operating in Israel. The court barred Uber from entering the transportation industry because of insurance matters. The court was addressing a lawsuit filed by the Transportation Ministry, which was of the opinion Uber was operating illegally in Israel.
For Uber, which began in Israel in 2016, it has been a constant uphill battle as the taxi driver’s union has been waging a tenacious battle against the newcomer. The Transportation Ministry has also been against Uber, making obtaining permits a challenge. One of the complaints heard from Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz is that Uber cars lack safety mechanisms that must be present in taxis and they are far less safe. He also has issues with the process of vetting drivers. Katz also agrees with taxi owners, that permitting the entry of Uber will spell the end of the taxi industry.
Globes reports “At the beginning of November, Uber Israel began operating its UberDAY ridesharing service in Tel Aviv and the neighboring cities of Ramat Gan and Givatayim with journeys undertaken to Herzliya in the north and Bat Yam in the south. Since October 2016, Uber Israel had been operating its UberNIGHT service in Greater Tel Aviv. The service had severe restrictions on the amount of rides each driver was able to provide so that earnings would be capped to cover car maintenance costs as defined by the Israel Tax Authority”.
For now, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstein has had his say, and Uber is not welcome in Israel. One can expect the case will ultimately be decided by the High Court of Justice.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
If Uber entry into the market means the end of the Taxi industry, that means that Ubers are much better- at least in one sense- than taxis. That means that we should find a way to make it work, instead of stifling the good idea to save a going-out-of-style industry. (#driverless cars) The transportation industry and it’s minister is supposed to work for the rest of society, not for what’s best for the taxi drivers and their companies. That doesn’t discredit the other issues at hand, like the non-specific safety issue, which might very well be important. Just that “Katz also agrees with taxi owners, that permitting the entry of Uber will spell the end of the taxi industry” should be followed up with “Katz is therefore planning on retraining the drivers to learn how to use the uber app and work for uber, or retrain and work for Egged/Tzahal/wtvr, should Uber be allowed access to the Israeli industry”. This is a common mistake that governments make- worrying about saving an industry at the expense of the good of society. Sometimes it’s good to create jobs like this (pumping gas in NJ, using manual labor in the Far East), but it’s certainly not lechatchila, and the public should mistama know.
Why don’t they allow Uber for TLC drivers like NYC?