Slovenia’s parliament passes law allowing Uber and Lyft to enter market

Slovenia’s parliament passes law allowing Uber and Lyft to enter market
/ Uber
By bne IntelliNews June 2, 2021

Slovenia’s parliament has endorsed amendments to the act on road transport that create the legal basis for transportation platforms such as Uber or Lyft. 

Debates about Uber in Slovenia have been ongoing for years. Former Slovenian authorities wanted to bring Uber to the market in September 2016, but the process has been delayed, as local taxi drivers complained that allowing Uber to operate would be unfair competition to existing taxi services.

The new changes to road transport law are also expected to facilitate the digitalisation of the transport sector.

The parliament adopted the amendments in a 50 to 36 vote, news agency STA reported.

According to the proposal, drivers using digital platforms would need to get a licence, just like regular taxi drivers, while taxi drivers would not be obliged to use taximeters and would be allowed to use software instead.

Municipalities would be involved in the process of setting the rules as they can determine the quality standard, including the types of vehicles that will be used for these platforms.

The amendments also include provisions making public transport more attractive to users and simplifying procedures for obtaining transit cards for professional athletes.

Slovenian tech firms have supported the legislation, which was also backed up by two opposition parties and independent MPs.

However, the opposition Marjan Sarec List (LMS) argued the legislation was tailored to Uber and warned about possible abuse of labour rights.

Tech

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