Berlin Senate orders rideshare apps to withdraw 1.600 illegal cars

The Berlin Senate has ordered the taxi and rideshare platforms Uber, Bolt, Freenow and Bliq to remove 1.600 vehicles from the city’s streets due to insufficient permits.

Uber, Bolt, Freenow and Bliq remove 1.600 cars in Berlin

Following an order from the Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (Labo), run by the city’s Senate for Interior Affairs and Sport, ridesharing apps Uber, Bolt, Freenow and Bliq have had to withdraw 1.600 cars from Berlin streets.

After checking 8.900 cars, the Labo found that 1.600 vehicles had been running with missing, expired or fake permits that are needed in order to operate as a rideshare taxi in the city. The cars in question have now been removed from the four platforms and those found to have been offering services illegally will be fined.

30 percent fewer rideshare cars now available in Berlin

According to Tagesspiegel, Uber, Bolt, Freenow and Bliq had 4.362 cars officially registered in Berlin in April 2024. With 1.661 cars now taken off the streets by the Labo, the number of ridesharing cars available in Berlin has fallen by 30 percent.

Uber has only operated in Germany since 2019 and faces much heavier regulation compared to neighbouring European countries. But when it comes to the newly removed cars, SPD politician Tino Schopf accused administrative authorities of taking too long to implement existing regulations.

Thumb image credit: Cristi Croitoru / Shutterstock.com