On November 24, the Brussels appeal court ruled that a decision by the Dutch-speaking Brussels commercial court in 2015 that banned the operation of the ‘UberPop’ services, which connected unlicensed drivers to customers, applies to all of Uber’s services, including professional drivers. The ruling follows a temporary suspension of Uber’s services in Brussels in September.

The predominant legal issue of the longstanding legal battle has been the notion of “taxi service” under the provisions of the Ordinance of the Brussels Capital Region of 27 April 1995 on taxi services and vehicle location services with driver (Ordonnantie van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest van 27 april 1995 betreffende de taxidiensten en de diensten voor het verhuren van voertuigen met chauffeur/Ordonnance de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale du 27 avril 1995 relative aux services de taxi et aux services de location de voiture avec chauffeur – the “Ordinance”)- a regulation which does not take into account the technological developments which occurred with the widespread use of smartphones and gig economy applications.

The publication of the recent ruling, which is expected later this year, will shed light on the reasons behind the court’s decision and the issue of (un)fair competition in ridesharing.

In the meantime, 2000 private licensed UBER drivers in Brussels will no longer be able to pick up customers.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: ‘The absence of targeted legislation regulating platform work together with an outdated legal framework in the domain of taxi services dating back to 1995, years before the advent of smartphones, are putting drivers, their services and not least the customers at risk. We understand that the legal aspects of this issue are complex, but we cannot accept that this legal uncertainty results in leaving thousands of workers and their families unprotected. They need a fair and inclusive legal framework for platform work.’