Berlin - New registrations in Germany for the car pickup service Uber shot up in the 24 hours after one of the country's courts banned the US-designed smartphone application.
The service has been operating in five German cities, drawing sharp criticism from the established taxi sector, but has seen a surge in interest compared with the same day last week, Uber Deutschland said.
Leading the boost was a 590-per-cent jump in Hamburg and a 518-per-cent gain in Dusseldorf.
In Frankfurt, where the court banning the service is based, the numbers were up 228 per cent.
Despite the service already being prohibited in Berlin, new registrations rose 270 per cent, the company said.
“This public reception ... confirms our plans to expand the project into other German cities soon,” said Uber Deutschland spokesman Fabien Nestmann.
He went on to say that since the start of the year new registrations had seen a fivefold-increase for the Uber app, which connects people who are looking a ride with those offering transport services.
In handing down its ruling on Tuesday, the court said that the app represented unfair competition to the taxi business and that it can no longer operate in Germany without an official permit.
Those breaching the ruling, which followed a lawsuit from the national association of taxi drivers, could face fines of up to 250,000 euros (R3.5 million) and up to six months in jail, the court said.
The court's decision represented the latest in a number of legal setbacks that the San Francisco-based company has faced in Europe and the US as it attempts to expand its service around the world.
Uber's German offshoot insists that all drivers using the Uber platform are carefully selected by the company, and are tested and insured. - Sapa-dpa