EU calls member states to be softer on UBER and AIRBNB

In a draft of the guidelines the European Commission have asked member states to implement more moderate restrictions rather than ban so called ‘’sharing economy’’ companies such as UBER and AIRBNB.

Up until now UBER and AIRBNB have navigated different regulations across 28 of its member states.

UBER have had a dramatic effect on the London Private Hire market with the number of Private hire drivers increasing by a huge amount since 2013.

Several protests have been held across London by Black Taxi drivers due to the lack of regulation within London by Transport for London.

UBER and AIRBNB have been partially banned across a series of cites including France, Germany and Belgium and AIRBNB have faced heavy criticism for its effect on the local housing prices.

The draft apparently reads ’’Total bans should be a last resort and only be applied where no less restrictive requirements can be used.’’

The commission also said that operators should be considered employees if they aren’t allowed to set their own prices, this is likely to be heavily contested by UBER who have argued that the drivers are independent contractors.