Illegal passenger transportation will be dearly paid for. Uber is included
Fines on illegal passenger transport have been worsened, according to Diário da República (the Portuguese Official Gazette). And, this time, neither Uber nor Cabify are excused from being penalized.
Starting this Monday, illegally transporting passengers will bear a higher cost. It was published in Diário da República – Portuguese Official Gazette – a decree that will worsen the fines on the illegal activity of transport taxi services, a proposal made by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) approved in Parliament in September and promulgated by the President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa last month.
Among the new measures implemented, and besides the increase in penalties, is the broadening of the fines to transportation platforms such as Uber and Cabify: the new document is meant for “the practice of acquiring services, resorting to electronic communication systems, from vehicles without a permit”.
Pursuing these activities without a permit will be, according to the decree, punishable by a fine between 2,000 and 4,500 euros for a natural person or 5,000 to 15 thousand for a legal person. In case of relapse of the administrative offence, the said values double.
As for the use of vehicles without a permit or the unjustified use of licensed vehicles in “different council areas”, the changes to the law predict fines ranging from 2,000 and 4,500 euros.
