Uber Taxi Driver Ban News: German Court Rejects Uber Complaint After Online Taxi Service Ban

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has refused to hear a complaint by online taxi service firm Uber Technologies Inc. over a ban of its activity in the city of Hamburg.

The country's highest tribunal said the complaint was "not accepted for a decision due to lack of admissibility," a court spokesman said on Friday. No further justification was given by the court for its move, he added.

It is not clear what move Uber can do as the court's decision cannot be appealed in Germany. "We take note of the court's decision and decline further comment," Reuters quoted an Uber spokesman as saying.

Uber received an injunction from Hamburg's transport office in July last year, which said its drivers need to have special licenses to be able to carry passengers. Uber's motion against such was denied subsequently by an administrative court.

The company argued that its services involve private persons who do not require a special license instead of professional drivers. Their customers use their smartphone application to summon and pay for a vehicle instead of looking for a taxi.

Uber has been struggling to compete with taxis in Germany, which uses Mercedes-Benz sedans, Bloomberg reported last month. Nearly 60 percent of German taxis use the luxury brand, majority of which are made of $51,800 E-Class. Uber's fleet, meanwhile, are made of Volkswagen AG's Golf compact or other lower vehicle segments.

"I don't notice competition from Uber at all," Reuters quoted Rainer Wieblitz, a veteran driver in Munich who uses an E-class, as saying. "None of my customers have ever mentioned them."

In the U.S., Uber has cut prices for customers in 48 cities but guaranteed earnings for driver, to beat the winter slump.

"In the past, Uber has implemented price cuts without a guarantee for drivers. However, this time around, we're trying a new approach. We're so confident in the earnings gains drivers will see that we're making earnings guarantees in every city where we're cutting prices. We feel that it is important for drivers to have this kind of certainty and comfort going into a price cut," an entry in Uber's blog showed.

The San Francisco-based company, supported by investors Goldman Sachs and Google, has faced opposition from transport agencies in many countries.