Uber expands into the surrounding area - Taxi Association: "This is poison for the taxi industry"

Trips from the outskirts of Munich to the region are now available at a fixed price of 6 euros.

Uber also wants to stir up the taxi industry.

Associations are outraged.

Munich - At night, trains and buses in Munich only run at long intervals - or not at all.

This annoys many commuters and night owls. The travel agent Uber from the USA wants to change that: It is expanding its range in Munich with short night trips from train stations in the outskirts.

The “last mile” service is available at a fixed price.

The offer is applied automatically when a customer books a short trip (within a 2.5 kilometer radius).

The “last mile” service is valid for train stations that are outside the middle ring but still in the Munich city area.

However, users can drive into the surrounding area - at a fixed price of six euros.

A passenger at Messestadt West can, for example, be driven home to Aschheim.

So far, the offer was only valid for underground stations.

As of today, 29 S-Bahn stations will be added outside of the Mittlerer Ring.

The “last mile” service is therefore available at around 90 train stations in Munich.

Demand is particularly high at off-peak times

The offer started in June at selected underground stations in Munich.

"The 'last mile' service was very well received," says Christoph Weigler, Uber's head of Germany, our newspaper.

Demand is particularly high at off-peak times, when the connection with local public transport deteriorates.

"Most of the last mile bookings were late at night between 11pm and 1am and on the weekends," says an Uber spokesman.

The most popular departure stations are Heimeranplatz, Messestadt West and Brudermühlstraße.

The journeys at these underground stations could be tripled in some cases.

With the expansion of the offer, Uber now wants to better network the neighboring suburbs with public transport.

The service should also be an alternative to having your own car, says Uber CEO Weigler.

Uber's vision: to gradually expand the service to all external branches of the MVV.

“As a businessman, I see a lot of potential in rural areas,” says Weigler.

In two years, the trips should also be in rural regions, for example in Aying in the Munich district.

Uber also wants to stir up the taxi industry

A collaboration with the MVV is also planned, according to Uber. The goal: to integrate the “last mile” offer into the network. The MVV is critical of this. For Uber, "the revenue / profit interest is in the foreground," said a spokeswoman. There are offers especially in well-developed and densely populated areas. "The classic public transport means of transport, on the other hand, are subject to the idea of ​​services of general interest," says the MVV. Offering new mobility models such as Uber across the board is therefore "rather difficult".

Uber also wants to stir up the taxi industry.

“Uber Taxi” is scheduled to start in Munich next year, and local taxi companies will also make journeys.

The driver service provider has been working with rental car companies so far - the partners have their own fleet of vehicles and employ drivers.

Private individuals cannot offer rides.

"This is poison for the taxi trade"

Taxi associations in Munich are indignant about the plans of the US group.

"Uber is based on legal violations and wage dumping," says Thomas Kroker from the Bavarian Association for Taxi and Rental Car Companies.

He doesn't want to work with Uber, "that's poison for the taxi industry."

Florian Bachmann from the Munich Taxi Association is threatened with legal remedies if Uber should offer "another illegal service".

Taxi companies repeatedly complain against Uber - most recently with a successful judgment in 2020. The Munich Regional Court then banned Uber in the city - but without any impact on driving operations.

The travel agent changed its business model.