Malcolm Owen
Uber has suffered a major blow to its operations in the United Kingdom, after Transport for London announced it will not be renewing the company's license to operate in the country's capital, with the transport authority citing Uber's policies and actions as reasons behind the decision.
The statement issued by Transport for London (TfL) on Friday notes Uber's current license to operate within London will expire on September 30. Under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, Uber has 21 days to commence appeal proceedings, and will also be allowed to continue operating until all appeal processes are exhausted.
In explaining its decision, the regulator claims "Uber's approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implementations."
The list of issues includes how Uber obtains medical certificates for its employees, as well as how it conducts its Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. TfL also complains about the way Uber reports serous criminal offenses that take place during journeys.
Uber's "approach to explaining the use of Greyball," controversial software created by Uber to keep regulatory officials from seeing the locations of its fleet of vehicles by providing a map of ghost cars, is also highlighted. TfL argues Greyball "could be used to block regulatory bodies from gaining full access to the app, and prevent officials from undertaking regulatory or law enforcement duties."
"TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license," the regulator declares.
TfL has today informed Uber that it will not be issued with a private hire operator licence. pic.twitter.com/nlYD0ny2qo
— Transport for London (@TfL) September 22, 2017
Uber was initially licensed as a private hire operator for London in 2012, with the license due for renewal this year.On May 26, TfL provided a four-month license to the firm to continue operations while the authority considered issuing a new five-year license, a decision that ultimately didn't go in Uber's favor.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan fully supports TfL's decision, advising "it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners' safety and security. Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules."
According to Uber London general manager Tom Elvidge, approximately 3.5 million people use the app in London, with the decision affecting over 40,000 licensed Uber drivers in the city. Uber intends to appeal the ruling.
"By wanting to ban our app from the capital TfL and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice," said Elvidge in a statement received by TechCrunch. "If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport."
Elvidge denies that Greyball has ever been considered for use in the UK, and asserts that the company has "always followed TfL rules on reporting serious incidents, and have a dedicated team who work closely with the Metropolitan Police." Uber drivers are claimed to go through "the same enhanced DBS background checks as black cab drivers," while the app itself has allegedly enhanced ride safety, with "every trip tracked and recorded by GPS."
"This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers," Elvidge concludes.
Uber's existence in London has been troubled by complaints from numerous parties in recent months. According to the Evening Standard, members of parliament wrote to TfL earlier this month, urging it to strip Uber of its license as they "do not believe that Uber has shown itself to be a fit and proper operator," citing safety concerns.
In April, the Metropolitan Police wrote to TfL expressing concerns over the safety of passengers, including the risk of sexual assault. The letter from the Met Police's taxi and private hire team head Inspector Neil Billany cited one case of an Uber driver allowed to continue working despite allegations of sexual assault, with the driver committing another "more serious" attack in his car at a later time, reports the Guardian.
Billany's letter highlights Uber's slow reporting of criminal activity to authorities, advising "had Uber notified police after the first offense, it would be right to assume that the second would have been prevented."
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44 Comments
Avoiding the whole licensing scam was part of the reason for the rise of Uber (and Lyft, and another freelance cabbie app the name of which escapes me). People already have a driver license, so make a couple of extra bucks doing what you can already do completely legally...give a stranger a ride in your car.
You reap what you sow.
As a Londoner I celebrate this decision. Those 40,000 drivers won't be out of work, there are plenty of taxi companies in London that pay their taxes and vet their drivers still around - many of them have apps as well.
I live in NYC and can tell you although a lot of people like the ease of getting an Uber car that business model (if you can call it that) has had some serious consequences and negative impact on the city. First off, with the city experiencing a population boom Uber has only added to the already jammed pact streets with a flood of more vehicles. To drive a taxi you need more than a simple driver's. license you need to be trained in the laws regarding the rights of those you pick up. You must know how to get from a-z and no google Maps is not a crystal ball for navigation. An Uber driver is like someone that went to med school but never got a license to practice. The taxi and limousine commission regulate taxi and car services, handles complaints, lost and found, etc... Uber takes zero responsibility for who drives for them. The city has a long time system of medallion taxis. A medallion is legal contract the owner has with the city, they are very expense, until recently the average price was near one million dollars. These medallions were a valuable asset which could be sold to another person(s) and often represented a lifetime of investment. Today thanks to Uber these medallions have lost half their value. Uber is another example of some Silicon Valley nut jobs creating something that is more destructive to society than helpful, a product of service which makes them millions while it undoes rules which were put in place to protect consumers from abuse, overcharging an monopolies. There once was time when technology promised benefits for all today it only benefits the few that someone manage to put that technology between the person providing the service and the consumer. The mob would "shake down" small businesses this way, it is illegal yet has taken the form of an iPhone app.