60 former UberPOP drivers convicted in Sweden
Around 60 people have now been convicted for operating illegal taxis in Sweden after they drove for scrapped car-hailing service UberPOP, Sveriges Radio reports.
Launched in Sweden in 2014, the low-cost spin-off of US-founded Uber was touted as a car-sharing service, which in theory would allow it to accept drivers without taxi licences.
Swedish courts took a different view however, and the brakes were eventually put on the app by its parent company last spring after a series of convictions of drivers.
By May, around 21 drivers for UberPOP had been found guilty of driving taxis illegally in Sweden, and the tally of convictions is now said to be as high as 60.
“We were all tricked and we were all used. Why would you give someone a job if you know it would end up in a conviction in court?” one former UberPOP driver told Ekot.
READ ALSO: Why UberPop is being scrapped in Sweden
Some of the drivers who drove for UberPOP claimed that they had their driving licences suspended due to their conviction, resulting in the loss of jobs.
Uber’s European head Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty insisted it was never the company’s intention to end up in a situation where drivers would be prosecuted and convicted, however police in Sweden have been highly critical of the service.
Ekot also reported that Uber are currently subject of a preliminary investigation in Sweden over adherence to client responsibility, though at present no one is formally accused of any crime.
Along with being abandoned in Sweden, UberPOP has been scrapped in several other European countries including France and Germany.
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Launched in Sweden in 2014, the low-cost spin-off of US-founded Uber was touted as a car-sharing service, which in theory would allow it to accept drivers without taxi licences.
Swedish courts took a different view however, and the brakes were eventually put on the app by its parent company last spring after a series of convictions of drivers.
By May, around 21 drivers for UberPOP had been found guilty of driving taxis illegally in Sweden, and the tally of convictions is now said to be as high as 60.
“We were all tricked and we were all used. Why would you give someone a job if you know it would end up in a conviction in court?” one former UberPOP driver told Ekot.
READ ALSO: Why UberPop is being scrapped in Sweden
Some of the drivers who drove for UberPOP claimed that they had their driving licences suspended due to their conviction, resulting in the loss of jobs.
Uber’s European head Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty insisted it was never the company’s intention to end up in a situation where drivers would be prosecuted and convicted, however police in Sweden have been highly critical of the service.
Ekot also reported that Uber are currently subject of a preliminary investigation in Sweden over adherence to client responsibility, though at present no one is formally accused of any crime.
Along with being abandoned in Sweden, UberPOP has been scrapped in several other European countries including France and Germany.
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