26 Sep 19
News

Uber given two more months to operate in London

London’s transport authority has rejected Uber’s application for a full private hire operator licence. Instead, Transport for London has agreed to a two-month extension to the the ride hailing giant’s licence in the British capital, with strict conditions attached.

A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) said it wanted time: “for scrutiny of additional information that we are requesting ahead of consideration of any potential further licensing application.”

TfL refused to renew Uber’s licence in 2017, after concluding that Uber was, “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.” The authority was dissatisfied with a number of public safety and security issues, including Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, and its approach to checking the criminal records of drivers.

Uber appealed the original decision, and a magistrate granted it a 15-month licence, which expired this week.

TfL said its: “original decision not to license ULL [Uber] has led to the app-based firm improving its culture and governance.”

However, it has still imposed new conditions on Uber to: “Cover ride sharing, appropriate insurance and driver document checks by Uber.”

Uber reaction

An official statement from Uber said: “Over the past two years, we’ve launched a range of new safety features in the app, introduced better protections for drivers and our Clean Air Plan is helping to tackle air pollution. But we know that we have more work to do.”

More than 3.5 million Londoners regularly use Uber, and the ride hailing platform has more than 45,000 private hire drivers in its London network. These drivers will soon be offered the benefits of Uber Pro, a loyalty programme which offers free education courses, roadside assistance and discounted car maintenance, according to the news agency Reuters.

 

Authored by: Jonathan Manning