© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A taxi driver waits in his car to pick up passengers in Paris, France October 19, 2016. (Reuters)/Regis Duvignau
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Written by Toby Sterling
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Uber (NYSE) is seeing an influx of European taxi drivers to join its platform, an executive told Reuters, a surprising development given the company’s history of tensions with the traditional taxi industry.
In an interview, Anabel Diaz of Uber, who oversees the company’s mobility business (ride-sharing) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said business is strong in Europe despite continued uncertainty about the rules for working in the gig economy.
EMEA, she said, is “growing fairly well with numbers ranging from 10% to over 50% growth in some of our geographies”.
Uber’s largest European markets are Britain, France, Germany and Spain.
These “have a very strong business performance with a lot of innovation, including the development of our taxi solution in all of those countries,” she said.
Uber says European taxi drivers’ use of the app doubled in the year to April 30, from 5% to 10% of all trips. Taxi drivers who use the app see it as a complement to their curbside booking business. All Uber rides must be booked online.
Conflict between taxis and Uber has decreased due to rules requiring private Uber drivers to obtain a business licence.
Diaz said the company initially struggled with hiring after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But right now, drivers are back on the podium in the largest numbers ever, frankly globally, and that leads to better service levels,” she said.
Uber only reports group-wide numbers for its traditional ride-sharing and delivery businesses (Uber Eats) — each of which accounts for roughly half of sales. Europe accounted for $2.1 billion in group revenue in the three months ended March 31, about 24% of the company’s total, making it the company’s largest market outside the United States.
Rules about when gig workers should be considered employees are still in flux in Europe, with different models in Spain, Germany and Britain. EU countries will try to agree rules for a compromise at a meeting of the European Council in June.
Uber says its drivers must be contractors. “The reality is that we will adapt… (and) businesses will find a way forward,” Diaz said, regardless.