Uber secures licence to continue operating in London
Good News for millions of Londoners and visitors who rely on Uber to get around the capital.
Uber, the ride-hailing giant has finally secured its right to continue operating in London after a judge upheld its appeal against Transport for London (TfL) at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The Court said Uber was now a “fit and proper” operator “despite historical failings”.
Uber has been granted a new licence to work in the capital, nearly a year after TfL rejected its application over safety reasons, thereby ending the uncertainty for the 45, 000 drivers who use the taxi app in London.
However, the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association said it was a “disaster for London”.
One of the main concerns raised by TfL was a flaw in Uber’s system that allowed unauthorised people to upload their photographs to legitimate drivers’ accounts which then allowed them to pick up passengers.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that 24 drivers shared their accounts with 20 others which lead to 14, 788 rides.
Jamie Haywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe said: “It was not what we would do now. It was inadequate, we could have done better.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said TfL was absolutely right not to renew Uber licence last year but acknowledged the company had “made improvements. I can assure Londoners that TfL will continue to closely monitor Uber and will not hesitate to take swift action should they fail to meet the strict standards required to protect passengers.”
Uber operates in 19 cities in the UK including Cardiff, Brighton, Portsmouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Stoke, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, York, Leeds, Belfast, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Glasgow and London.
Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram said he took Uber’s “track-record of regulation breaches” into account but said it had made efforts to address failings and had improved standards and said, “ Despite their historical failings, I find them, now, to be a fit and proper person to hold a London PHV ( Private hire vehicle) operator’s licence”. The judge said Uber “ does not have a perfect record but it has been improving picture. The test as to whether Uber is a fit and proper person does not require perfection. I am satisfied that they are doing what a reasonable business in their sector could be expected to do, perhaps even more. “
The new licence will run for 18 months and comes with a number of conditions, allowing TfL to closely monitor Uber’s adherence to the regulations. Uber’s 45, 000 drivers on its books in London is a force to be reckoned.
TfL originally refused to renew Uber’s licence in September 2017, but the company then won a 15-month licence by a judge in June 2018 after taking the case to court. Uber was granted a two-month extension to its licence in September last year, but in November, TfL decided not to grant it a new licence saying that “it identified a pattern of failures by the company including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk”. Uber appealed against the decision and was allowed to keep operating throughout the process.
Uber, is still awaiting a separate UK court ruling over whether its drivers should be classed as workers or self-employed. The case brought by two former drivers could see Uber forced to compensate drivers across the UK for missed holiday pay, paid rest breaks, and the national minimum wage.
The courts ruled in favour of the drivers in 2016 and Uber lost an appeal in 2018. Judgement on the firm’s final appeal to the Supreme Court is expected soon.