European Commission Decision 2020/3/EU

Basis of the Case
In 2019 the European Commission launched a probe into the ridesharing industry in particular two major American companies - Lyft and Uber. The probe has ended with the Commission fining the two major companies involved a combined total of €500mn.

The Decision reclassified ridesharing companies across the European Economic Area as Taxi companies and orders them to obtain the relevant paperwork and insurance in the member states in which they operate. All regular taxi licenses in a member state must also be obtained. The companies named have also been required to provide insurance for the workers when driving for the companies to avoid having uninsured cars on the road as could currently be the case due to the lack of commercial covering by most car insurance types.

The Commission also concluded that the working conditions which workers of the company face, alongside frequently failing to meet the minimum wage in several member states, must be rectified by the company with their drivers being redesigned as employees if they work more than 15 hours a week for the companies.

Commissioner Vestager who launched the probe stated that Europe can only have competitive markets if there is a level playing field between old forms of service such as Taxis and new services such as Uber and Lyft.