Brazil Judge Orders Shutdown of Uber App Car Service

Brazil Judge Orders Shutdown of Uber App Car Service

BRASILIA, Brazil, April 29 (UPI) — Uber, an app-based transportation company, was ordered by a judge Tuesday to shut down its service aimed at residents in Brazil, because the South American nation’s cab drivers say it’s taking a lot of money out of their pockets.

Based in San Francisco, Uber has been operating since 2010 and maintains an online taxiing network which has been expanding service around the world. Judge Roberto Luiz Corcioli Filho of the State of Sao Paulo Court of Law accepted a request from a taxi drivers’ union to halt Uber’s activities in Brazil, Bloomberg reported.

If the company ignores the order, it is subject to a fine of the equivalent of $34,000 per day. Brazil is the latest nation in which the car service is facing legal challenges. Portugal issued a similar injunction Tuesday. The service has also been banned in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

The main argument against Uber seems to be that the company is supposedly infringing on the business and fair practices of traditional taxi cab companies and drivers — who have to obtain the necessary license to operate, while Uber does not.

“The company is providing a clandestine service,” the judge wrote in his ruling. “Thousands of professional taxi drivers are being harmed daily by the dizzying expansion of the company.”