Uber is the biggest ride-sharing service in the world. It’s already present in countless countries and continues to grow. It does have to deal with stringent local regulations and other issues in tough markets which often lead to the company have to take a swift decision. It took one such decision in Abu Dhabi – the capital of the United Arab Emirates – by temporarily suspending its service after some drivers were reportedly detained.
The issue reportedly stems from a dispute between regulators and regional rival Careem. Uber is said to have suspended its service in the city after some drivers working for Careem were detained.
It’s believed that as many as eight Careem drivers have been detained, while local media reports suggest that up to 50 drivers working for both Uber and Careem have been arrested so far.
“Uber made the decision to temporarily suspend services due to some unforeseen circumstances. Our goal is to have operations up and running as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for the company said today without highlighting the steps that Uber is taking to address this issue. Uber did clarify that none of the drivers were working for it when they were detained.
Reports suggest that one of the reason for the dispute between the parties is that regulators in Abu Dhabi have been calling on ride-sharing services like Uber and Careem to raise their fares and also to comply with licensing requirements which regulate the number of drivers available for hire. The capital’s taxi regulator has not yet commented on the matter.