Uber’s global march continues with launch in Athens, Greece despite ongoing troubles elsewhere

Uber may have a lot on its plate just now, what with firefighting controversial comments from execs and local legislative hurdles, but that isn’t slowing the company’s global march to taxi-market domination.

The e-hailing app has just officially launched in Athens, Greece, kicking off with its UberTaxi service. UberTaxi is open to local taxi drivers and their existing vehicles, thus bypassing the need for posh shiny cars as may be expected from other Uber services.

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Despite the obstacles the company is facing elsewhere in Europe and beyond, with Germany, France, Thailand, Vietnam, and India making its ride far from easy, today’s launch is evidence that the show very much must go on for Uber.

For the Athens launch, Uber says that UberTaxi fares will be 20 percent cheaper than local taxis “until further notice” — a tactic it often employs for new launches — so that’s no doubt good news for travelers and locals alike. That said, the move may cause some tensions among local taxi drivers, as this pretty much means they’ll have to play friendly with UberTaxi if they’re to remain competitive.

Still fresh from its mammoth $1.2 billion funding round that valued the company at $17 billion, Uber is now available in around 200 cities across 50 countries.