The ban on “electronic marauding” for VTCs confirmed
The applications that connect end customers and VTC drivers use geolocation to inform the customer of the nearest available driver: where is he or she? and how many minutes would it take for him or her to get to me?
This process was called “electronic marauding” in the report of Deputy Thévenoud and its prohibition was noted in the Taxi/VTC law of September 2014.
Uber had challenged this ban, arguing that it infringed on entrepreneurial freedom. The Sages decided otherwise and confirmed the text of the law, since customers can still know the estimated waiting time before they are picked up.
A procedure being in progress in Brussels on this same point, Uber is playing for time to adapt its application…
The obligation for VTC to return to their base between two trips confirmed
Unless the driver can prove a prior reservation, he must not park on the public highway while waiting for customers. To justify a reservation, the driver must present a paper or digital mission sheet to the control authorities.
VTCs will finally be able to use time-based pricing
When a service is priced in a “time and mileage” mode, the price is defined according to the time spent on the road and the number of kilometers traveled. The customer can have an estimate of the total price at the time of the reservation but he will know the final price only at the end of the service.
In August 2014, the judge of the Paris Commercial Court ordered Uber to change its billing method that mentions a time and mileage rate, under penalty of a monthly fine of 15,000 euros. The Thévenoud law had also ratified the end of the hourly rate.
This May 22, the Constitutional Council decided otherwise, considering that this prohibition carries “to the freedom of enterprise an infringement which is not justified by a reason of general interest in direct link with the objective pursued by the law.”
A victory for Uber, which will not have to modify its app, and for all VTCs who use this pricing method.
All the details of the Constitutional Council’s decision are on http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/acces-par-date/decisions-depuis-1959/2015/2015-468/469/472-qpc/communique-de-presse.143801.html
