Ride-hailing service shuts in Denmark

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK— The Danish branch of the ride-hailing service Uber said Tuesday it is shutting down its services in Denmark due to a proposed law that toughens standards for cabs.

The San Francisco-based company said it’s stopping the service used by 2,000 private drivers in the country as of April 18, citing upcoming new proposed regulations that would impose licensing requirements on cars that function like taxis, and require seat sensors and meters, instead of using a smartphone to calculate fares as Uber does.

The decision to withdraw follows a Danish government proposal to strengthen taxi rules and a court ruling late last year that ruled the company was an illegal taxi service.

Uber’s spokesperson in Denmark, Kristian Agerbo, said Uber “must take the consequence” of the proposal. Uber said it would retain a corporate presence in the Scandinavian country, where its engineers will continue to work on developing technology for the ride-sharing service worldwide. In a statement, the company said “the proposed regulations need to change” for Uber to operate in Denmark.

“We will continue to work with the government in the hope that they will update their proposed regulations and enable Danes to enjoy the benefits of modern technologies like Uber,” Agerbo said. With files from Bloomberg