August 6 (SeeNews) - U.S.-based online transportation network company Uber Technologies said on Tuesday it opened in Bucharest its largest assistance centre for drivers and couriers in Central and Eastern Europe following investment of 250,000 euro ($279,946).
The new 320 sq m space in Romania's capital will host a team of 11 experts and has the capacity to provide assistance for up to 2,500 drivers and couriers per week, Uber said in a press release.
"This investment speaks about our commitment to Romania, where we see a lot of potential. In the last 4 years, we launched the ride sharing service in five cities and brought the food delivery service Uber Eats and Uber Green, with 100% electric cars," Uber general manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Ash Kebriti, said. "In the medium and long term, we aim to become a multi-modal platform, so that when you open the application, you have access to all transport options - be it Uber X, electric scooters and bicycles, taxi or public transport,"
In the context of the recently adopted legislation regulating ride sharing services in Romania, the new centre will become a compliance accelerator, helping drivers to take all the necessary steps for authorization as easily as possible, the company said.
"The opening of this centre coincides with the beginning of a new chapter for Uber in Romania and for the entire urban transport sector. After over 400,000 people signed a petition calling on the authorities to regulate ride sharing services, Romania took a step forward to modernize urban transport and joined other European countries that implemented such reforms," Uber Romania general manager, Nicoleta Schroeder, said.
"Our commitment is to comply with the new regulations and to support partner drivers to become authorized under the new law," Schroeder added.
In June, the Romanian government adopted an emergency decree regulating the operations of ride sharing platforms. Companies providing alternative transport via apps must pay an annual authorization fee of 50,000 lei ($12,000/10,500 euro). The government issued the decree after an association of digital platforms Uber, Clever and Bolt said that over 400,000 Romanian citizens had signed a petition calling for adoption of regulations covering the ride sharing services in the country.
Uber, present in Romania since 2015, operates in Bucharest, Timisoara, Brasov, Cluj and Iasi.
($=0.893 euro)