Breaking down barriers: A Cohesive Single Market for ride-hailing and taxi services
Breaking down barriers: A Cohesive Single Market for ride-hailing and taxi services
The EU Single Market is a cornerstone of European economic integration, ensuring the free movement of goods, services, and people. However, in the realm of ride-hailing and on-demand mobility services, a fragmented regulatory landscape continues to stifle competition, innovation, and efficiency. The current patchwork of national and local regulations creates an uneven playing field, imposing burdensome restrictions on professional drivers and limiting consumer choice.
The Regulatory Challenge for taxi and ride-hailing services
Ride-hailing exemplifies both the promise and the limitations of the EU Single Market. While platforms can offer intermediation services across borders, and passengers can seamlessly use the same apps across Europe, professional drivers remain constrained by outdated national and local rules. Unlike other digital services that operate freely across the EU, ride-hailing is hampered by restrictive licensing systems that vary widely across Member States, disproportionate operational requirements and inconsistent local operating regulations.
Examples include the return-to-garage rule in Germany, the obligation to learn how to read physical maps in Austria and Ireland, long waiting time in Spain, artificial licensing caps in Belgium. Such disparities run counter to the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, which aims to promote digitalization and shared mobility solutions. Move EU has compiled a memo outlining these obstacles.
The lack of a harmonized regulatory framework for ride-hailing results in:
- Reduced consumer choice, leading to higher costs and limited service availability.
- Weakened competition, restricting innovation and market development.
- Fewer opportunities for professional drivers, particularly in peri-urban areas where demand for flexible transport solutions is high.
The Need for Legislative Action
Despite the European Commission’s recognition of ride-hailing’s role in decarbonizing transport and improving urban mobility (2022 Commission Notice on Local Passenger Transport-on-Demand), significant regulatory barriers persist across the EU. While the Notice was a step forward, it has not led to tangible improvements, underscoring the urgent need for follow-up action.
As the EU moves towards regulatory simplification in 2025, reinforcing the Single Market for all mobility services must be a priority.
Move EU welcomes the announcement of the Single Market Strategy (Q2 2025) in the European Commission’s Work Programme and the inclusion of transport services in the Transport Commissioner’s mission letter.
To unlock ride-hailing’s potential within the Single Market, it is essential to:
- Eliminate regulatory barriers that prevent seamless market access.
- Ensure fair competition between mobility providers.
- Establish proportionate and non-discriminatory rules that uphold the EU’s fundamental freedoms of establishment and service provision.
Addressing Regulatory Disparities
Move EU urges MEPs working on the INI report on the implementation and streamlining of EU internal market rules to:
- Recognize the specific barriers hindering ride-hailing.
- Call for legislative action following up on the Commission Notice on Local Passenger Transport-on-Demand, ensuring concrete regulatory improvements.
- Prioritize regulatory simplification, reducing bureaucratic burdens on professional drivers and platforms to foster a more agile, competitive, and innovative mobility sector.
A harmonized, proportionate, and future-proof regulatory framework is essential to unlocking the full potential of the Single Market for mobility services. Simplifying and aligning rules across Member States will enhance competition, expand consumer choice, and support sustainable and innovative business models.
A strong and forward-looking INI report will send a clear signal that the European Parliament is committed to a truly integrated Single Market, fostering competition, innovation, and consumer choice in mobility. Move EU stands ready to support MEPs in shaping a regulatory environment that benefits drivers, passengers, and European cities alike.