Could you soon say goodbye to Uber in London? Well, the taxi cartel and the bureaucrats have won the battle, but will they claim victory in the war?
The ride-sharing service saw its license in London stripped by the city’s transport regulator, Transport for London (TfL). The government cited a “pattern of failures” that “placed passenger safety and security at risk.”
TfL said in a statement:
Uber has made a number of positive changes and improvements to its culture, leadership and systems in the period since the Chief Magistrate granted it a licence in June 2018. This includes interacting with TfL in a transparent and productive manner.
However, TfL has identified a pattern of failures by the company including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk. Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.
Uber announced that it plans to appeal the move, which means nothing will change for Uber users in London. But it does still hurt the company as its license was first suspended in 2017 in London and had to be granted a temporary license twice to continue operating in London.
Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said in a statement:
TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal. We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety. TfL found us to be a fit and proper operator just two months ago, and we continue to go above and beyond.
On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation.
Uber shares tumbled by four percent in pre-market trading.
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