Overview
- The Gelsenkirchen administrative court, which ruled Wednesday, granted interim relief to two private-hire drivers and said Essen’s price rule is not lawful in its current form.
- Essen said Thursday it will not appeal and will suspend enforcement for all affected companies until it revises and republishes the order.
- The city’s rule, in place since January, let app rides like Uber or Bolt be at most 7% cheaper than taxi fares for trips that start or end in Essen to protect the taxi sector.
- Judges faulted the regulation as too vague, especially on how to calculate fares once a ride crosses the city line, and questioned Essen’s authority to set prices for trips into other municipalities.
- The applicants included a hire-car firm and the platform Bolt, and with Essen the first city in North Rhine-Westphalia to try such a price floor, the pause could reopen price competition and shape how other cities proceed.