An illustration picture shows the logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone next to the picture of an official German taxi sign in Frankfurt, September 15, 2014. — Reuters pic

FRANKFURT, Oct 31 — Taxi-hailing service Uber Technologies is making a retreat in Germany to the cities of Berlin and Munich as it grapples with a ban from using unlicensed cab drivers.

Uber will for now suspend services in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Duesseldorf, it said in a statement yesterday, citing a difficult regulatory environment.

A German court in March banned Uber from running services using unlicensed cab drivers and set stiff fines for any violations of local transport laws by the pioneering online taxi firm.

The company in Germany has since limited itself to drivers that hold a passenger transport licence, among other legal requirements, through its UberX and UberBlack smartphone apps, but it has run into a shortage of suppliers of ride services.

“For many prospective Uber partners the process of registering an independent rental car enterprise has proved as too costly and time consuming,” Uber said in a statement.

It added it would improve its services in the two remaining German cities and “intensify the dialogue” with law makers and authorities, saying Germany remained one of its most important global markets.

Venture-backed Uber, which in July was reported to be valued at nearly US$51 billion (RM218.89 billion), has seen its UberPOP service, which relies on non-professional drivers, outlawed in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Germany. — Reuters