“Uber stands for a particularly extreme form of wage dumping, which refuses to allow for any minimum wage,”

For now a court in Germany has lifted the ban on UBER.  The following is an excerpt from an article in The New York Times (September 17, 2014). We hope that the politicians in the U.S.A. take lessons from Europe and elsewhere with respect to UBER.  UBER has deep pockets we all know and perhaps they are share some of this wealth with the rulers to be but I have faith that eventually the public will demand answers and clearly see the abuse.

The New York Times (September 17, 2014).

The German taxi association said Tuesday that it still believed that Uber was acting unlawfully and that it would appeal the decision in the coming month.

“Uber stands for a particularly extreme form of wage dumping, which refuses to allow for any minimum wage,” Dieter Schlenker, Taxi Deutschland’s chairman, said in a statement. “We hope that politicians will steer the taxi clearly into the future and won’t let the U.S.A. firms put any ideas in their heads.”

The comments follow vocal opposition to Uber from taxi associations across Europe, which accused the company of breaking local laws. Earlier this summer, more than 10,000 taxi drivers from London to Milan took to the streets to protest Uber, which has now expanded to more than 100 cities in 45 countries and is valued at more than $15 billion.

German taxi drivers voiced their dismay Tuesday that the court had lifted the nationwide ban despite continuing legal uncertainties over whether Uber could operate in Germany.

“We lose money every day,” said Michael Linke, 60, who has been a taxi driver in Frankfurt for more than 30 years. He and other drivers complain that their Uber competitors can offer cheaper prices because they are not saddled with the same operating costs, like taxi insurance and local licenses.

“The only reason people choose Uber over us is the money part,” Mr. Linke said. “If we could, we would love to be cheaper.”

Taxi associations and local authorities also have open legal cases against Uber in Berlin and Hamburg, though the company has won reprieves in those German cities until courts make a final ruling this year over whether Uber complies with local laws.

In the Frankfurt case, which centered on whether its business was anticompetitive, Uber faced fines in Germany of up to 250,000 euros, or about $330,000, or a jail term of up to six month for a local employee, if it violated the temporary injunction. Uber drivers, who are not employees, did not face direct penalties. Uber’s premium product, Uber Black, which uses luxury sedans with chauffeurs, was not affected by the ruling.

At the time, the company said that it would continue to operate in Germany. In the last two weeks, at least two UberPop drivers in Germany had been barred from using the service to pick up drivers, according to a company spokesman, who would not say whether the company had paid fines in those cases.

“The New York Times”

Mark Scott reported from London and Sarah Plass from Frankfurt.

A version of this article appears in print on September 17, 2014, on page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: German Court Lifts Ban on Uber Ride Service.