Whenever I order an Uber in NL, I seem to get a car that is a licensed taxi.

Usually they have a taxi sign on top of the car, and always have blue license plates (which you can only get if you are a taxi).

So, I think that the workaround must have been that they actually employ licensed taxi drivers. This is, however, only speculation.

This is 100% the case in Sweden. Since Uber is a ride service/taxi they are just like any other taxi company, of which there are hundreds (Taxi has one simple definition and it's to offer rides to the public for money). Since there are no artifical caps on number of taxis such as medallions, all that's required to run a taxi is to have a special drivers' license and a certified vehicle.

So all Uber drivers are taxi drivers and all Uber vehicles are taxi vehicles. Simple.

If Uber tried to somehow do taxi services without their drivers having taxi drivers licenses or their cars being registred taxi cars, they'd be laughed at.

Everything is really really simple once there is no taxi monopoly or medallion system.

For Finland it is same. But it seems removing controls of licenses and pricing lead to worse service availability and higher prices... Who would have thought that operating taxi in country like Finland is pretty expensive...

Perhaps Uber's solution will be to employ a company that employs drivers and let that company be saddled with all the awful paperwork involved.

Methinks the flexibility of dealing with temporary workers is more pertinent than the added cost. Pure speculation of course.

There is Uber around, 100%. I use it from time to time.

I think it's always a regular taxi that shows up, though.

You're forgiven. I also live in the NL and I almost never see them. The last time I saw an Uber was two years ago when a friend came from the USA and wanted to use their app to call a Uber.

But then again I never take taxis either. For me it's either walk, bike or OV. It might be like that for you as well, which is why you forgot they exist.

Same in Finland, Baltics or central/eastern Europe. Almost everything is within walkable/bike-able distance. Public transportation has good coverage, is affordable and safe. Taking taxis is just not something people normally do. From here, Uber feels like a quintessentially American solution for a quintessentially American problem.

Real world example - taking Uber to my workplace would cost me one-two hours of net pay, and I'm in the top 5% earners. Another one-two hours of net pay to go back home.

For comparison - public transportation costs 3€/day regardless of usage, and only takes about 15% longer to get there.

‘..Baltics’ maybe in Estonia.. in Lithuania Uber (or rather companies that are competing with it) is quite popular and that prices were very low (due to competition between different apps) until quite recently (mass transit is not that great here, though). AFAIK while not used by most people, it is also quite popular in Ukraine. Due huge income inequality the prices are very low but there is still a substantial section of the population which can afford it.

Indeed. I don't own or travel by car. I just remember reading that the "Uber Pop" app was not allowed, but Uber Black(?) was, but it was more expensive and had licensed drivers. That was many years ago.