The ride-hailing giant Uber has partnered with WEBTAXI to make the Uber app available in Luxembourg. On Tuesday, the first official trip took place, carrying the Minister for Mobility.
Yuriko Backes had the honour to take the first ride, booking a taxi through the app to get to her next appointment in the city. In attendance were also Laurent Slits, Director at Uber Belgium, WEBTAXI and Emile Weber CEO Emile Weber, as well as WEBTAXI Director Michel Craveiro.
Slits says: "We came to Luxembourg because we saw that last year tens of thousands of people opened the Uber app and immediately closed it again because they saw that there were no Uber taxis in the Grand Duchy."
Emile Weber, CEO of WEBTAXI and the large bus company, is also convinced of the potential: "We currently have 150 cars from our headquarters that are now driving for Uber. We think that this number will increase in the future."
The Luxembourg launch will see a marked difference to the way the service operates elsewhere, as private individuals will not be able to provide the service. Instead, Uber in Luxembourg will only accept professional taxi drivers holding the appropriate license.
Dynamic pricing
Uber's prices are set dynamically. If demand is higher, the price will automatically increase. This can sometimes lead to prices tripling at peak times.
Due to regulations and the high salaries in Luxembourg, there will probably not be a huge price difference between a traditional taxi and an Uber taxi, explains Slits, explaining that a taxi from the train station to the airport is around 30 euros: "It is one of the most competitive prices in this country," he argues.
The app is also secure, as it allows you to share your location with other people, drivers are evaluated and rated. Prices are shown prior to confirming the journey.
As a special deal, three vouchers of 25 euros each are being awarded until the end of this month, which will be automatically deducted from the price of the journey.
