Dispute over platform ride-hailing cars: Berlin tightens its stance on passenger transport law

The initiative was launched by Tino Schopf, the SPD parliamentary group’s spokesperson on transport policy. The motion targets the Berlin Senate with the aim of influencing at the federal level the ongoing evaluation of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG). For the taxi industry this is noteworthy because many demands directly address the fault lines of the past years.

Hire-car registry and digitization

Going forward, there should be a publicly accessible register of licensed hire-car companies, according to the applicants' wishes. Authorities could use it to review permits more quickly and to identify dubious schemes more easily. The background is the practice that has been criticized for years, namely that vehicles with licenses from distant districts operate permanently in large cities. So far, there is no nationwide database for this.

At the same time, policy is bringing app-based ride-service platforms more into focus. Platforms of app-based ride services should explicitly be subjected to official supervision. In addition, licensing authorities should gain access to digitally recorded trip data. The proposal thus responds to a problem that regulatory authorities have long described: companies provide data partly only on paper, even though it is available digitally. The analysis becomes time-consuming or effectively impossible.

Economically as well, the move targets the platform economy. § 51a PBefG, which regulates fixed prices in taxi traffic, is to be clarified. Specifically, it concerns when public transport interests are considered endangered. In doing so, policy indirectly creates the basis for minimum transport charges to counter ruinous price competition.

No exception to the distance-tracker requirement

Another point concerns the distance-tracker requirement. Exceptions for platform-based hire-car transports are to be eliminated. The distance-tracker is regarded in the trade as an important instrument for tax control. Especially in the hire-car sector, customs authorities and investigative authorities have repeatedly pointed out problems with revenue documentation and social security contributions in recent years.