Brussels-dwellers up in arms over a commercial court ruling this week banning Uber Technologies Inc.’s low-cost service in Europe’s capital can now fight back. A Brussels court this week ordered the company to cease its UberPop service in Brussels within 21 days or else be fined €10,000 ($11,200) for every day it operates, with a maximum overall fine of €1 million. Uber said it would appeal the decision, which doesn’t apply to its other, more expensive, services. The Brussels court UberPop ban is “obviously disappointing news… but there is a way forward,” Uber said.
As we reported last week , a Brussels court ordered Uber to cease its UberPop service in the city within 21 days or else be fined € 10,000 for every day it operates , with a maximum overall fine of € 1 million . On Friday , Uber asked local customers to sign a petition complaining of the ban , and received nearly 3,000 signatures in just a few hours ( the petition has now received over 3000 signatures ) . Furthermore , it seems local government figures supported Uber ’s case , with Alexander De Croo , Belgium ’s deputy prime minister telling The Wall Street Journal that “ “ People should n’t be suing someone else bringing more benefits to customers . ” He believes legislation in Belgium should be loosened to allow for Belgian investment in the sharing sector to grow . “ We do n’t want to become a dinosaur island in the rest of Europe , ” he said .