Uber Israel CEO Yoni Greifman told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Wednesday morning 12 Cheshvan that “tomorrow, we hope to begin operating full time after completing our one-year trial program”. Simultaneously, Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz announced his ministry is filing a lawsuit against Uber, which Katz insists is operating illegally.

Greifman explained that by paying an Uber driver, one participates in the overhead of running the driver’s vehicle. He adds there are others in Israel operating in a similar fashion and Uber is not the only one with a problem. Greifman told Galei Tzahal he and other have been working to establish a dialogue with officials in the Ministry of Transportation; as well as trying to meet with Minister Katz, but to date, their efforts have not been successful. He questions why the minister prefers to go to court rather than speak with him and his associates first.

Greifman explains “I want Uber in Israel to be like others around the world and move transportation forward, which is not the case today”.

A representative of the taxi drivers’ union told Galei Tzahal that Uber is illegal and harming the parnasa of the 20,000 taxis, which have a difficult time earning a living and having to pay the regulator, fees and taxes, which Uber does not. He added Uber is not less expensive, so it is pointless.

“They act like bullies” said the union rep, who added that Israel’s security situation is unique, and it would be absurd to permit Uber drivers to operate without a regulator and without any agency inspecting the vehicles from a safety perspective.

Greifman responded “If Uber is not less expensive then there is no need to be concerned”. He agrees security concerns must be an issue and this is one of the reasons they have been making efforts to work with the Ministry of Transportation, but officials seem to prefer court rather than trying to develop a mutually beneficial operational plan.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)