Ride-sharing service Uber will suspend operations on 24 July in Hungary due to government legislation that makes it impossible for it to operate, the company said Wednesday. The laws allow authorities to suspend services such as Uber for up to a year if they operate without the appropriate permits after being fined.
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“Unfortunately, the logic of legislative developments that have unfolded in Hungary over the last 18 months have led us to this hard decision”.
Uber says 160,000 people in Budapest use its service to hail rides.
Taxi drivers in Hungary have demanded Uber be outlawed and its smartphone app blocked as they say its drivers breach regulations other taxis firms must adhere to. Cars used by drivers for unlicensed passenger transport could be banned for up to three years and drivers could lose their licenses for six months.
San Francisco-based Uber has previously said its Hungarian drivers are licensed and tax compliant.
The laws were altered after pressure from taxi companies and motorists, who held many demonstrations slowing traffic in downtown Budapest.
“The government is mistaken when it tries to react to new technologies with a simple ban”, said a statement from the green party Politics Can Be Different.
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Uber started running in Hungary in November 2014. The company said 40 percent of Uber users in Hungary were tourists.
