São Paulo willing to wage ‘war’ with Uber over motorcycle rides

São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes said Uber will face the wrath of his administration if it fails to comply with a municipal ban on motorcycle ride-hailing services. “I don’t want war with them, but if they want war with the city of São Paulo, they will have it,” Mr. Nunes said during a press conference.

Uber launched its motorbike ride operations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on January 5, meeting instant regulatory pushback. Mr. Nunes immediately demanded the service be suspended, complaining that City Hall was “surprised” by the announcement. In Rio, Mayor Eduardo Paes tweeted that Uber shouldn’t “even think about” operating the service, already available in 160 Brazilian municipalities.

Mr. Nunes said that São Paulo’s traffic safety department has not recorded any violations by the company, but Uber insists on saying that the service remains available — based on a federal law allowing it. 

“Uber Moto” often does not appear on the app for users. The tech giant says that happens in regions where there is a mismatch between the number of registered motorcyclists available and user demand.

The battle over motorbike services in São Paulo goes way back, with City Hall signing a law prohibiting them in 2018. The top court in the state, however, ruled the ban unconstitutional a year later. Currently, the sector remains unregulated but still runs in a clandestine fashion on the outskirts of Brazil’s biggest city. 

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