Social, Economic and Legal Consequences of Uber and Similar Transportation Network Companies (TNCs)

Briefing 15-10-2015

Commercial success and massive uptake of services provided by companies such as Uber trigger a number of questions for regulators both in the United States and in the European Union. The main question is if such web based applications or platforms merit their success solely to innovation or if their success is due to exploitation of loopholes in regulatory requirements. Citizens and consumer organisations question if regulatory responses to these innovative services are dictated by genuine concerns over proper regulation of transportation services and consumer safety or constitute a protection of traditional incumbent transport operators.