This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on March 8th, 2021.
New Blog
This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.
Germany is currently in the process of amending its mobility law (Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Modernisierung des Personenbeförderungsrechts), which regulates taxis, buses, and ride-hailing apps like Uber or Free now. The Kabinett (meaning the Chancellor and all federal ministers) cabinet approved the bill already in December 2020. Now it is in the process of becoming law in Germany, which took already three years. It is not uncommon for a law to be debated long. The long legislative process was also due to interventions by several lobbies. The most visible protests have been staged by the Taxi drivers, who fear for their existence with a too liberal regulation of their digital competition. Here are some of the main points, which drew in the critique of digital associations like BVDW and Bitkom. They represent digital companies, think ride-hailing and ride pooling companies. Note that the final law may be different from what we are discussing here, the process is still ongoing. This is just a status with some highlights from association feedback. If you guys want more in-depth coverage, let us know, fill out the feedback form, or comment.
Rückkehrpflicht: It literally means the duty to return, so drivers from companies like Uber would need to return to an assigned waiting spot and can not pick up clients on the way. Normal taxis can pick up clients on the roadside and have no duty to return. This is one of the main critique points for both associations. Both associations also hint here that electric cars don’t have the same large range as combustion engines and so the law is discouraging emobility.
Gebündelter Bedarfsverkehr: It literally means combined demand for transportation and is an obligation to get approval for all types of carpooling services, with (according to BVDW) an unfair advantage for public offers for pooling. Note that public offers here are (as of now) taxed 7% VAT and private offers 19%
Rental cars: All kinds of rental cars are seen to be at a disadvantage to taxi companies and public mass transportation.
Real-time data: Now private mobility companies have a legal obligation to provide real-time data, so an app can calculate the shortest possible way, similar to Whim in Finnland.
Price regulation: Some prices for rental cars will have a legal minimum.
Please don’t get us wrong here. We do understand that the law is on a good way, but it does not fulfill all wishes of the digital economy and maybe not all for environmental protection.
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