The Austrian subsidiary of the American travel service provider Uber continues to feel the merger of the taxi and car rental company that took place in early 2021. “Vienna is missing about half of its taxi drivers, at least a few thousand,” said Uber Austria boss Martin Essl.
At the beginning of 2021, Uber had to say goodbye to most of the car rental companies that were active on the platform due to a lack of taxi licenses. An exam is required for the taxi driver’s license and the driver must also prove the German language proficiency. Since then, according to the Chamber of Commerce, 1,527 candidates have taken the taxi driver exam for the first time in Vienna and a positive test certificate has been issued in 1,184 cases.
Apparently not enough for Uber. The company is pushing for tightening of the occasional traffic law and simplification of the taxi driver exam. “The catalog of questions still spans over 60 pages, mostly a local knowledge test. More flexible pricing is needed at the state level,” Essl says. The reliability check at the traffic bureau is also “can be improved”. To obtain a taxi driver’s license, drivers may not have committed more than five minor offenses in five years.
However, the carrier wants to stay in Austria. “It is an important market for us. The activities are currently being expanded in Vienna, Salzburg and Graz. There is no planning yet for a launch in Linz and Innsbruck,” said the boss of Uber Austria. Taxi companies in Austria pay Uber on average 15 percent of the fare as a commission for the placement. This commission can fall to nine percent.
Passenger numbers still below 2019 level
The taxi market has shrunk due to the corona pandemic. Lockdowns, gastro-bans, canceled events and a lack of tourists hit the industry hard in 2020 and 2021. But now there is an upward trend again. “Demand would be back after the corona crisis. Overall, however, Uber Austria’s passenger numbers are still below the level of 2019. Also in 2022 as a whole, the pre-crisis level will not be reached, because Uber and the entire industry are missing drivers,” says the Uber manager.
The Austrian subsidiary of the American travel agency does not publish specific figures on passenger development and profitability. In Vienna, Uber wants more latitude with prices. “The upper limit of the price in particular has a negative effect on entrepreneurs, because this price range limits their sales,” says Essl. “The price range also makes it impossible to adequately respond to short-term challenges, such as rising fuel prices.”
Cancellations of prebooked trips and longer wait times are a topic of excitement for some Uber customers in this country. “Sometimes it’s more lucrative for drivers to pick up passengers on the road and then cancel pre-booked rides. There is no penalty for this, but we are trying to lower the cancellation rate with positive incentives,” said the boss of Uber Austria.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
