Since we’ve first launched our service in Brussels, we’ve seen that it’s a city that wants to move. Thanks to our app, hundreds of thousands of users in Brussels can today arrive on time for that urgent business meeting, get a reliable late night ride home or head to the closest metro station to more easily get around the city.

While Uber has revolutionized the way people move in cities around the world, it’s equally true that we made mistakes along the way. We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of the cities in which we operate. Brussels is no exception.

A couple of years ago the Brussels government decided to work on a much needed reform of its 20 years old taxi and LVC regulation. We agree that a reform is needed to help tackle mobility issues and increase the strong potential for professional drivers to fully contribute to better mobility.

Today there are 350 000 commuters entering Brussels every day, with congestion numbers growing as more people move into cities. At the same time, new mobility apps like Citymapper or Modalizy provide us smarter ways to move around, the number of driver license holders among 18-20 year olds has halved since 2000, cycling has increased annually by around 15%, and half of people living in Brussels could see themselves letting go of their car.

As new technological solutions provide people with the chance to get around without their personal cars, there will be need for increased accessibility to public transport. But taxis and LVC drivers will play an equally important role to support this shift.

We are fully committed to working with the entire sector – including taxis – to improve mobility in Brussels.

Due to regulatory restrictions, the benefits our app provides are today only available to LVC drivers, but we have seen drivers from all walks of life using our app. The key reason they tell us is the flexibility the app provides, allowing them to work and stop working at the touch of a button, to complement their own activities or client base with no exclusivity.

Such opportunities are definitely new, but flexible and independent work within this sector certainly isn’t. In Europe 75% of taxis are independent today and in Brussels this is somewhere around 50%.

We believe all professional drivers have a role to play in improving the mobility in Brussels and we remain committed to be an open and constructive partner in any reform that serves the interest of drivers, riders and the city of Brussels.