Does an Uber or Bolt driver in Flanders need a printer?

A physical printer is not needed to meet the transport document obligation when that document is correctly created via the platform app and delivered to the customer. Even for trips via Uber, Bolt or Heetch, a transport document must still be able to be created.

For a driver who works fully digitally, that is an important distinction. The obligation concerns the transport document and its delivery. Paper is not the only option.

The transport document may go through the platform app

The written clarification TaxiGer received confirms that the transport document may go via Uber, Bolt or another platform app. Buying a separate printer is therefore not necessary for that.

You do still need a working solution. If the platform correctly handles the transport document, that function can be fulfilled via the platform. Assess first what already happens before you buy extra equipment.

Creating and delivering belong together

Being able to generate a transport document is one part of the obligation. The document must also reach the customer.

Article 35 of the Flemish operating decree provides that the customer or transported person receives the transport document at the end of the trip, without having to ask for it. Read article 35.

So look at the full process with your platform: which document is created, how the customer receives it and where you can find the data if a question arises.

Do you still need to create a second ticket besides the platform?

If the platform already creates and delivers a valid transport document for the trip concerned, this obligation by itself does not mean you must print the same document again.

The written explanation specifically allows handling via the platform app. This article concerns trips carried out entirely via the platform. For a trip you accept outside the platform, you must check which solution provides the transport document for that trip.

A short check before you buy equipment

Take a completed platform trip as an example and check:

1. Which document the customer receives after the trip.
2. Whether you know where the related trip data are.
3. Whether you can retrieve those data during an inspection.

That is a practical check of your working method, not an obligation to buy an extra device.

A driver can, for example, use an additional app for the route sheet, while the transport document for a platform trip continues via the platform. The two documents therefore do not necessarily have to be handled by the same app.

Frequently asked questions

Is a paper transport document always mandatory?

No. For the platform trips described, delivery may be digital via the app.

Am I automatically in breach without a printer?

No. Not having a printer does not by itself mean the transport document is missing. The question is whether you can create and deliver the document correctly.

Help with your digital taxi documents

Want to organise your route sheet and transport documents in practice? Discover TaxiGer’s document features and see which features you need alongside your platform app.

Also read: Is the Uber, Bolt or Heetch transport document valid in Flanders?