Ride-hailing firm Uber has been fined 900,000 dollars in France for using non-professional drivers between February 2014 and July 2015, local media reported on Friday.The Paris Criminal Court ruled on Thursday that Uber, based in San Francisco, had operated illegally for putting clients in contact with “road transport providers” for free with its low-cost UberPOP ride-sharing service.
According to a report, Uber France General Manager Thibaud Simphal and Head of Uber’s European operations Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty were also fined 34,000 dollars and 23,000 dollars respectively.
The report said as they were found guilty of misleading business pratices and operating an illegal service.
“Uber suspended UberPOP in France in July 2015 after an organised push from taxi drivers as Uber refused to obey a 2014 order to shut down UberPop.
“As a professional license is not needed to become an Uber driver, traditional taxi services have accused UberPop of unfair competition,’’ it noted.
It added that Uber had been a magnet for criticism and had already been banned in several European countries including Spain, Portugal and Germany.
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