Uber taxi service to launch in Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven
The American taxi giant Uber is making its entrance into Flanders next week, to the dismay of existing taxi services and city councillors
‘Soul of service is lost’
As in Brussels, the app-based Uber will have to employ licensed taxi drivers and not just citizens looking to earn some extra cash. Also, according to the taxi decree, the car must meet certain requirements. Still, existing taxi companies are obviously not enthusiastic about the arrival of Uber.
“We honestly did not see this coming,” Matthias Liekens of Taxi Jenny in Leuven told VRT. “The new decree did open the door to other players, but you have to stick to the same rules, such as the payment of Vat tax on every trip. We thought Uber wouldn’t be able to adapt to those regulations.”
The “soul” of taxi services is “simply lost,” continued Liekens. “For years we have been providing this service with passion and respect for the profession. With Uber, anyone with a car can transport passengers. A big American company is now going to have a major impact on a Leuven family business. A price war, for instance, will not be economically sound.”
Because of corona, there’s little business for taxis, and now they have to deal with Uber, too
City councillors in Leuven and Ghent are also concerned about the arrival of Uber. “Because of corona, there’s little business for taxis, and now they have to deal with Uber, too,” said Johan Geyleyns (CD&V), city councilor of trade. “No, we are not happy with this at all. We are going to meet with the sector soon to discuss how we can help. We work, in any case, with quality labels for local taxis.”
Ghent mobility councillor Filip Watteeuw (Groen) is also concerned about a price war. “Next to the 220 city taxis, now we’ll have about 60 more,” he said, “which we honestly don’t need. That will change the market completely and make it harder for our taxi drivers.”
But some companies are thinking about how they can innovate in order to continue to offer quality service and some of the advantages of Uber. “Digitalisation is an important asset in trying to compete with a company as big as Uber,” said Martijn Steenhaut of Ghent oldest taxi service V-Tax.
Other than that, he says, existing companies have an advantage in that they know the city and its customers inside and out, as well as all the regulations taxi service entails. “Our value lies in the knowhow and quality that we have to offer. Where a player like Uber has less control over the cars, drivers and adherence to the rules, we are experts in this.”
Photo courtesy Uber
