Lisbon Court of Appeal said on Friday that an appeal lodged by the controversial web-based transport company Uber against a court decision that prohibits its activity in Portugal is “partially acceptable” and has ordered the Lisbon Civil Court to reassess it.
The Lisbon Central Court accepted an injunction on 28 April 2015 from ANTRAL, the local taxi drivers’ association, and prohibited Uber operating in Portugal, a decision that the same court confirmed in June.
Uber went to the Court of Appeal and according to that decision, the higher court said that the previous decision must be gone through “point by point, fact by fact, without any generalisations".
An Uber spokesman commented that "at this time when Portugal is moving towards modern regulation which will bring a new mobility model to its cities, this is good news for the thousands of people who use Uber to get around every day and for the thousands of driver-partners who see Uber as providing important economic opportunities and job creation."
The head of ANTRAL, Florencio de Almeida, said today that this is not such big news for Uber so there is no reason for the company to be celebrating.
Then there’s Cabify which promises a premium service with absolute no questions over the legalityof its operation in Portugal.
Cabify concentrates on the corporate market whose businessmen should “enjoy a premium service at an affordable price."
Cabify boss Nuno Santos said, "This year we want to open up in Oporto where we hope the reaction will be like in Lisbon where we are a success. Then hopefully we will expand to other cities in order of importance and the volume of business they may have."
