Hello again Finland!

Over the last year, Uber has been going through a major period of change. Under the leadership of our new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, we’ve set a course for more responsible growth with a new approach to building long-term partnerships with cities and regulators. While there’s still a lot of work to be done around the world, we’re proud to announce the latest example of this process: our return to Finland.

In fact, since last August more than 250,000 people in the Helsinki area have opened our app even though Uber hasn’t been operating – showing a clear demand for safe and reliable transportation. Finns clearly haven’t given up on Uber as they’ve taken more than 200,000 trips abroad while our operations were on hold in their home country.

The new modern regulations in Finland promote fair competition and recognize the role new technologies can play alongside more traditional means of transportation. For consumers, the liberalized market will lead to much more choice. For drivers, they’ll have more freedom and possibilities to expand their business.  

Europe’s most northern country is leading the way with the introduction of these forward-looking regulations, creating new economic opportunities for residents and responding to local mobility needs. We’re excited to use our technology to complement existing public and private transport options and to offer an affordable, safe and reliable alternative to personal car ownership. We hope that other countries, where local people are not currently able to use apps like Uber either to get around or to make money on their terms, will soon follow suit.

Over the past month, hundreds of drivers have already visited our brand new partner support center in Helsinki. As they look forward to getting access to flexible economic opportunities, our team has worked tirelessly to get them ready to go through the process of acquiring the necessary licenses in July and getting on the road soon.

Today we are very excited to return to Helsinki and we feel proud to be able to operate under some of the most forward-looking regulations in Europe.

Joel Järvinen

General Manager Uber Nordics