Brussels does not need a new taxi war
Liberals are lovers of press freedom, innovation, market forces and parliamentary democracy. That’s a good thing: the week flowed together in the debate about the ‘Uberfiles’. A multinational has lobbied politicians in Brussels to convert taxi bookings through their online platform. The taxi industry has resisted this. Lobby and counter lobby.
rude lobbyist
A clumsy mobility platform lobbyist came to his senses and delivered his entire archive of attempted policy influencing to the British newspaper the guard. That then led to revelations about the company’s working method in various countries. The press revealed that the company acted brutally. Are these lobbyists breaking a code of ethics? task. But have criminal offenses been filed? Possibly. Up to the court to order. We live in a constitutional state. The same articles also published the pressure from the taxi sector to stop any change in legislation.
Are shared mobility digital platforms, such as Uber, but also Heetch, Bolt and others, engines of innovation? Specifically! No modern city in the world can do without it. They are popular with the city dwellers. This is how innovation works: it is there, it shakes things up, the government regulates, markets and society flourishes. Innovation Innovation is meaningless. The Uber file – as reported in the press – shows – apart from the pressure and unscrupulous methods of the players in the field – that politically, in the end, they used the innovation to break open the existing taxi legislation. Proof: the new Brussels taxi ordinance has finally incorporated innovation into legislation. Too late to our goal, but rightly so.
In Brussels, STIB is doing an excellent job of its metro, trams and buses, thanks to the active investments of neighboring Brussels governments. Private shared cars, shared bicycles, scooters and taxis supplement public transport. It is clear to the inhabitants of Brussels, the users, that in advance the existing taxi sector is not à la hauteur compared to other European cities: too limited supply, shorter pricing, haggling with licenses to get into the profession, and so on. The corporatist monopoly was thus challenged by new players… The users sent the question. Apart from the methods and pressure from different operators, a reform of the framework for this new market was the priority: a level(er) economic playing field, social rights for drivers and better services for citizens.
Parliament is not a court
And this brings us to the last point: the question of a commission of inquiry. Pay a commission? About Uber and its practices? About the business of lobbyism of all kinds? The court is doing its job. Parliament is not a court.
About the malfunctioning of the government in the taxi file? Then it should be about the government and not about Uber alone.
Then the question may also be whether the government has allowed itself to be used and abused in an unauthorized way by operators in the taxi sector: illegal practices with taxi licenses, resale of licenses, improper use of a license… That is a lot of questions. Or should it be about the uberization of society? That may be the hidden agenda. Here, in the resistance to innovation, lies the electoral bidding we see today. The naughty one, its social dumping and tax evasion, versus the local economy. But we don’t need a commission of inquiry: every day in the debates we defend a complete framework for innovation in our economy where possible. At the same time, we, who are electorally aiming for fear of innovation, need answers. Besides, both the traditional taxi drivers and the platform drivers are independent entrepreneurs for whom there must be a viable economic environment.
In summary: freedom of the press becomes practices of lobbyists and pressure on politics. Good. Criminal investigations are being investigated. Good. As liberals, there is nothing illegal about innovation and better market functioning within a modern framework. In a liberal democracy, ideas and visions of society clash in parliamentary debates. Open Vld is now focusing on the reform of the entire taxi sector that we have finally managed to implement: more and better taxis for the inhabitants of Brussels, modern mobility tailored to the city. Brussels must now mainly focus on the implementing decrees that must allow the new legislation to enter into force. Brussels does not need a new taxi war.
``