Bla Bla says Ha Ha in case brought against it in Madrid

A COMPANY which was founded in France and has offices around the world, Bla Bla Car has just fought off a claim made in court by the Spanish Confederation for Bus Transport (Confebus) which asserted that it was improperly acting as a transport company.

It argued that car sharing or this type was helping to depress the market for bus and coach journeys and therefore should be banned in Spain.

Bla Bla Car, however denied that it was a transport company but simply a social network that brings together drivers and passengers who wish to share the cost of their journey and it makes a charge for the introduction.

The matter was heard before a Madrid court which ruled that those drivers using Bla Bla Car are not employees of that company, nor are they in the main professional drivers touting their business for hire and reward.

In addition, it ruled that they were not looking to make a profit from the journey but were simply share the costs incurred with a third party.

Confebus does have the right of appeal against this service and city councils who feel that this business undermines their local bus services could also decide to take action against the company in the future.