Court of Appeals decision paves way for Uber to continue operations in Turkey

ISTANBUL

The Court of Appeals overturned a local court’s decision that blocked access to the U.S.-based ridesharing service Uber’s mobile application in Turkey, in a move that could see the company resume its operations in the country.

It ruled that a previous court order last year for the ride-hailing firm to cease activities in Turkey had been unjustified, Uber Turkey said in a statement on Dec. 24.

Uber’s service will go on with the yellow taxis of Istanbul through the UberTaxi application, the statement added.

“We believe and are committed to Turkey,” the Uber Global spokesperson said separately.

In March 2019, Turkey’s United Taxi Drivers Association opened a lawsuit against Uber and on Oct. 15, 2019, the local court decided to block access to Uber’s application to offer transportation services.

Announcing the termination of its UberXL services, Uber applied to the Court of Appeals, saying it wants to continue operations with the yellow and turquoise taxis.

An estimated 17,400 official yellow taxis operate in Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul.

After the Court of Appeal’s decision, Uber’s Turkey department also shared a Twitter post.

“We are excited because we will meet our application users in Turkey again. Together, for a beautiful future,” Uber Turkey wrote on their official account.

Uber is a transportation system used by 19 million daily users in more than 700 cities in 66 countries since 2010.