An Egyptian court has banned Uber services in a court ruling after taxi drivers sought to shut down the firms’ operations in the country, judicial sources said.
According to reports by Thomson Reuters, 42 Egyptian taxi drivers filed a lawsuit a year ago against Uber, arguing they were illegally using private cars as taxis. They also claimed that the firm was registered as a call center.
AFP also reported that, Taxi drivers had complained that the drivers didn’t need to pay the hefty fees to operate transportation vehicles. The news agency adds that Egyptians who complained about taxi drivers refusing to turn on their meters or their air conditioning had switched to the ride sharing app.
Khaled al-Gammal, a lawyer acting for the taxi drivers, said the court suspended Uber’s license, banned the app, and suspended the use of private cars by the ride-hailing service.
Further report according to Thomson Reuters said Uber reported Egypt as its largest market in the Middle East, with 157,000 drivers in 2017 signed up and 4 million users having used the service since its launch there in 2014.
Uber intends to appeal any court decision to suspend ride sharing licenses in Egypt, an Uber spokesperson said.
“We will do all we can to ensure millions of Egyptians can continue to enjoy the benefits of on-demand transportation,” the Uber official said.
“We are fully committed to working with the entire sector – including taxis – to improve mobility in Egypt together. We will appeal this decision, and continue to be available in Egypt in the meantime.”
Written with inputs from AFP and Thomson Reuters
