Uber must get licences as ordinary taxi firm: top EU lawyer

Brussels: Ride-hailing app Uber may be a pioneer in its field but at heart it is an ordinary taxi company and should be regulated as such, a top EU lawyer said Thursday.

Uber claims it is a service provider, connecting riders with freelance drivers directly and much more cheaply than traditional cab companies.

It has run into huge opposition from critics and competitors who say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as licensing requirements for drivers and vehicles.

In an opinion on a case brought by a taxi drivers' association in the Spanish city of Barcelona, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar of the European Court of Justice said California-based Uber should be treated as a traditional taxi company.

"The Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport," Szpunar said in an ECJ statement.

"Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law," he said.

The company reacted sharply, saying the opinion would change little in practice and only harm innovation.

"To be considered a transport company will not change the regulations we are subject to in most European countries," a spokesman for Uber France said.

"It will however hurt the necessary reform of outdated laws which prevent millions of Europeans being able to find a reliable ride with just one click," the spokesman said.

Officials at the company's main office in San Francisco were not immediately available for comment.

The opinions given by the ECJ's advocate generals -- its top lawyers -- are potentially significant since the EU's top court very often follows the advice in its final rulings, expected later this year for the Uber case.