Uber taxi service ordered to shut down in Spain by court

A Spanish judge has ordered Uber to cease operating in the country following a wave a protests by cab associations that claim that the taxi service is creating unfair competition.

According to a writ filed in the Spanish capital's mercantile court, the judge accepted the Madrid Taxi Association's proposal that cautionary measures should be put in place against Uber, in order for authorities to weigh up whether the taxi service app is creating an imbalance in the market place for licensed drivers.

The judge ruled that taxi drivers on the Uber app have not sought permission from the authorities to offer their services and therefore the company would not be allowed to operate until the firm has made sure that all cabbies had gained authorisation to do so.

The Uber app bridges a passenger and a driver (who does not necessarily have a taxi licence) immediately and is remarkably cheap when compared to a licensed cabbie.

The company keeps 20% of the fare for itself, while the driver takes the remaining 80%.

Uber has already come under fire from licensed taxi associations across the globe for driving down prices in the market and by flooding the industry with unlicensed drivers.

Today (9 December), Thailand's authorities ruled that the ride-sharing service Uber, and others like it, are breaking the law and ordered the firm to stop operations.

Meanwhile, on 8 December, Uber was also banned from operating in India's capital city New Delhi, after one of its drivers was arrested on charges of raping a female passenger.

The 26-year-old woman, who used Uber's smartphone app to book a taxi on 5 December, was allegedly taken to a secluded area and raped.