A German court banned Uber from operating its ride-hailing services in Germany today for lacking the licence necessary to offer transport services using rental cars. Uber is active in seven German cities and works exclusively with car rental companies and their drivers. It can appeal to a higher court and will continue to drive in Germany for the time being.Read more: Uber launches appeal over TfL London ban"We will assess the court's ruling and determine next steps to ensure our services in Germany continue," the company said. Uber will change the way it operates in Europe's largest economy and is considering taking legal action against the ruling.Taxi Deutschland, a national taxi provider in Germany, brought the case and said it would seek immediate provisional enforcement. "We are happy that we were right today. Once again it was judicially determined that the same law applies to small and large companies. Uber has no authorisation for passenger transportation in Germany," the cooperative said.The presiding judge said: "From a passenger's point of view, Uber provides the service itself and is therefore an entrepreneur." Uber has been unable to match customers with drivers using their own cars in Germany since 2015.This is the latest in a series of unfortunate events for the ride-sharing app. Last month Uber lost its licence to operate in London after Transport for London (TfL) identified a "pattern of failures" by the company were putting customers at risk. It is appealing the decision and continues to operate in London. It is expected that the appeal will fall through, given the pervasiveness of its problems. Read more: Sadiq Khan digs in against brash and aggressive UberTfL found that more than 14,000 trips were taken with drivers who had faked their identity on t