Goodbye Uber in Italy? New rules on NCCs on the way
Uber was born back in 2009 in San Francisco from the idea of two engineers, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The company, as it is known, [...]
Uber was founded back in 2009 in San Francisco from the idea of two engineers, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The company, as it is known, It explodes almost immediately and spreads like wildfire in the U.S.: in 2011 lands in Europe, in Paris, while in Italy comes a couple of years later. It was 2013 when the service was launched in Italy under the name "Uber Pop": The operation is simple and, if you like, innovative, viz. Offer rides in one's own car at affordable and lower prices than cabs.
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As is well known, however, Uber's history in Italy has been rather stormy as well as brief: only 2 years later, in 2015, Milan court declared illegal of service offered by Uber for unfair competition; from then on, in the beautiful country, Uber has continued to offer only the "Uber Black" service, a kind of luxury Ncc.Â
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But, Judging from the words of Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (and from the open letter of Uber Italy's No. 1 Lorenzo Pireddu), It seems that the luxury service offered by Uber in Italy has also come to an end.Â
"By answering a simple problem-how can I get from point A to point B easily and instantly? - over the past 15 years, we have changed the way people move in cities around the world. We are present in more than 15 Italian cities because getting around with Uber does not have to be a privilege of New York, Paris, Milan or Rome. After the black NCC sedans, we opened the service to cabs as well because we are not here to divide, but to innovate. As Italians we have resigned ourselves to endless queues and not finding a ride when we need one. However, our government seems not to want to solve the situation, but even to go in the opposite direction of what citizens need. The average wait time for an Uber ride in Europe is 5 minutes, but under a new law that could go into effect in a few months, the mandatory wait time in Italy for a user will be 60 minutes. Why do people in Rome or Milan have to wait 55 minutes longer for a ride than in Paris or Madrid? Italians deserve more. They deserve to live in cities with less traffic and more, not fewer, mobility options. My question, therefore, is very simple: where do we want to go?"Â These are the words of Lorenzo Pireddu, general manager of Uber Italy, Who criticizes the new direction the Italian government is reportedly about to take.
The casus belli is the disputed reform on car rental with driver being prepared at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, against which - next March 25, in Rome - the NCC category will take to the streets to demonstrate.
"Hard to believe, but it seems that the darkest days are still ahead for those who want to get from point A to point B in Italy. Last week, the Ministry of Transport announced plans to essentially outlaw DRT in Italy, with a decree that would require DCNs to wait an hour before picking up a passenger, even if the driver is only a few meters away. In Europe, the average time is about five minutes. With this new law, the mandatory waiting time in Italy would be 60: 1,100% more than their European counterparts. Why do Romans have to wait 55 minutes longer than Parisians or Madrileños? - Uber CEO Khosrowshahi said in an interview with CorSera - There is no reason or logic, it is simply a way to protect and appease a small but noisy group of taxi drivers. What makes it even more absurd is that Uber and taxi drivers work together all over the world, including in Italy. Globally, Uber has helped 235,000 taxi drivers in 33 countries earn more than $1.6 billion in recent years. We are friends, not enemies".
They are basically three of the regulations most challenged by the NCC category. The first is the introduction of an electronic service document: will be mandatory specify both the route the user wishes to take and the departure and arrival times. The second standard particularly averse to NCCs, however, Is about waiting as long as 60 minutes between services (or, alternatively, returning to the location of the company offering the service) before starting a new ride. The third and final rule relates to the ban on brokering: hotels, travel agencies and cooperatives will no longer be able to book chauffeur services for their customers.Â