The hail ride company Uber car hire license has been rescinded in London, England. Transport for London (TfL) has deemed it ‘not fit and proper’ for Uber to be given a London private hire operator license. Uber will not be provided with a new license to operate in London.
So why is this? Transport for London has stated that the grounds for the decision involve “public safety and security.” Uber has appealed, on the ground s that London is far from being open to innovative companies. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has supported the decision by TfL. TfL has identified issues such as Uber’s failure to report criminal offences, failure to carry out background checks on drivers and issues related to obtaining medical certificates.
Another issue that is concerning the London authorities is that of its Greyball system. This can block regulators from gaining full access to the Uber app. In other words, regulators checking on the conformance of Uber to regulations are blocked from using the app. Uber claims that Greyball has never been used in the UK for the purposes stated by Transport for London.
However, in London’s favor, there have been several issues involving Uber that Transport for London have been unhappy about. It claims that the company is too lax with its checks on drivers. Uber’s inadequate corporate approach to its army of 40,000 car hailing drivers in London appears to have been giving rise to a great deal of concern. This is leading to questions about the continuance of Uber’ car hire license.
It is perfectly feasible that Uber could have to close its operations in the UK capital. Meantime, Uber has 28 days to lodge an appeal – and it will be business as usual until then. The company will appeal and will be able to continue operations until the appeal has been heard. According to TfL, Uber is able to continue operating in London until all appeal options have been exhausted. This could take as long as the end of the year and beyond.
Transport for London state that the decision was made on public safety and security grounds. It is extremely concerned regarding Uber’s approach to driver background checks, and on the reporting of serious criminal offences. Others who are against Uber complain that the company lacks sufficient regulation of its drivers.
The result of the company’s appeal will determine whether or not the Uber car hire license will remain rescinded. This may take some time. The court must assess the benefit of Uber to London against the perceived lack of public safety. It may be, however, that Uber will not be permitted to operate in London.
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