Non-registered taxi dispatchers will be subject to a fine of Ft 300,000 and their service could be blocked for up to 365 days if they do not obtain a licence, under the bill.

The fine can also be levied if fares are distributed to persons who do not have a taxi drivers licence.

Uber has already been fined Ft 300,000, Népszabadság adds.

Blocking such services will be possible by the end of the year, Fónagy underlined, as technical and legal preparation has already begun.

Zoltán Fekete, head of Uber’s Hungarian operations, told Népszabadság that the bill will destroy jobs, ignores the need of Uber’s 150,000 mostly young users and cuts off Hungary from that part of the world where technical development is taken seriously

He suggested that the bill violates both the constitution and EU law.

Uber will continue its operations in Budapest Fekete underlined.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

This news item is one of many published daily by HATC, a premier subscription news service which distributes English-language info about Hungary via email or fax. For a free trial of HATC visit www.hatc.hu and click on 'Free Trial Subscription’.

MTI photo: Bruzák Noémi