A box of fruit from HelloFresh, the company supplying produce for Uber’s free offer in Berlin on Friday.
 
Rolf Zscharnack
Customers of ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc. faced a disappointment this week when they tried to book a lift through the app in Berlin.
The San Francisco company used to offer rides in the German capital with private drivers through a service called UberPop and with limousines through one called Black. But when checked several times in recent days, the app didn’t offer any of those cars, after authorities had forbidden the service.
Banned from transporting people, Uber has switched to a new type of passenger: crops. The company tried to cheer its customers by promising free boxes of fruits on Friday.
“Today you can get a delicious fruit box from HelloFresh delivered to the office or home,” the company said on its website. Customers were able to order them from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. GMT. No fruit box was available when The Wall Street Journal checked the app. ButUber’s Twitter account displayed pictures from several people who received boxes, according to the tweets.
Uber cut the UberPop fare to 35 euro cents (44 U.S. cents) a kilometer in October, a level permitted by law for drivers who lack a taxi license because it is regarded as merely covering the costs of running a car. This low level made it unattractive for drivers to offer their service.
Germany’s taxi market is tightly regulated and companies are required to adhere to a set fare structure and obtain special licenses, which Uber didn’t demand from its drivers. Authorities in Berlin and Hamburg therefore banned the service. Uber initially continued to offer its service after the bans, but supply of cars has apparently collapsed. The company also started to offer licensed taxis through its app. In some other European countries, Uber faces similar legal obstacles.
Uber’s general manager in Germany, Fabien Nestmann, on Friday didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions asking about the fruit offer and whether the company had terminated its UberPop and Black services in Berlin.