Uber’s license to operate in London was revoked overnight, a surprise decision that will affect the 3.5 million people and 40,000 drivers who use the app in the city.
The city’s transportation regulator, Transport for London, said the license will expire on September 30.
Regulators said it denied the license because Uber’s "approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility."
City officials cited Uber’s use of a secret software tool called "Greyball" that the company built to avoid regulators. Uber was also faulted for not properly reporting crimes and obtaining medical certificates.
"TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license," the regulator said in a statement.
Uber has 21 days to lodge an appeal, and can continue to operate during the appeal process. “We intend to immediately challenge this in the courts,” said Tom Elvidge, general manager of Uber in London.
London’s ruling decision pits the popularity of the company among millions of customers, against regulators and taxi drivers who want tighter controls.
The decision was cheered by the city’s traditional black cab industry, which has been hurt by the proliferation of Uber drivers and has aggressively pushed for tighter regulation of the San Francisco-based ride-hailing service.
Taxi drivers, many of whom now use the rival apps Gett and MyTaxi, must go through extensive testing before receiving a license, while Uber drivers have fewer requirements.
"All companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement. "Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security."
Uber cars have filled London streets since its arrival in the British capital in 2012, identifiable by the smartphones drivers keep holstered to their windshield.
Uber disputed the allegations made by regulators. The company said it conducts thorough background checks of drivers and had made several changes to improve safety. The company also said the Greyball program had never been in the U.K. “for the purposes cited by TfL.”
“By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” said Elvidge, the Uber manager in London. “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.”
Some are already coming to the defense of Uber. "It’s not in the interests of our economy, people in London and in this case, drivers, to restrict new products and services," said Tom Thackray, director at the Confederation of British Industry.
Although the conclusion of the ruling may take some time to play out in the U.K. courts. rivals are already circling Uber users. Daimler-owned Mytaxi, a black cab hailing app, is currently offering 50 percent off its fares from Friday.
Turkish Airlines - Miles & Smiles
08 Jun 2014
Total posts 262
London Cab experience was great, from the drivers to knowledge and even conversation. I trusted them more than Uber drivers but in saying that I’ve never caught anything other than Uber Black when overseas... Price wise, London Cabs were fair and I did not see them as expensive. Uber Black for special occasions but I’d still rather London Cab it.
BA Gold
01 Apr 2012
Total posts 194
London black cabs may be great but WOW do you pay for it. Pre uber it was pretty much only tourists and wealthy Londoners that would use them.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Jan 2015
Total posts 71
If only taxi drivers in Sydney and Melbourne had to take a test on local streets... sigh. But then again that takes precious time away from blocking the Tullamarine Fwy in protest of Uber.
QF
02 Oct 2012
Total posts 45
Is it just me or has Uber lost some of its intended charm? 9 out of my last 10 rides in Melbourne Uber's have been in a generic Toyota Camry which is obviously not the drivers private vehicle, but rather a car bought by a bunch of ex taxi drivers and driven by a group of them 24/7. We had an incident with a nasty angry driver last weekend who abused us because he couldn't find us to pick us up (he didn't answer his phone when we called him). He drove off on us when we refused to accept his abuse in a rage with one door still open
BA Gold
01 Apr 2012
Total posts 194
SRA but that's exactly what I find ironic about Transport For London's reason of 'safety' in not renewing ubers licence. You can get a rude/angry/fill in the blank driver with any taxi company.
20 May 2015
Total posts 579
Two words: "Rent Seeking."
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Dec 2016
Total posts 18
Never really had a problem with black cabs except that they re impossible to get at any kind of peak hour so most people just book and Addison Lee. The uber drivers I've had in London are probably not up to the standard but it's cheaper and easier so I'd still use them.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Sep 2012
Total posts 380
The irony...the disrupters get disrupted.
BA Gold
01 Apr 2012
Total posts 194
There were some more details on this released today in the UK media. The petition reached its 300k signatures that required a response from the London Mayor.
13 Nov 2015
Total posts 49
Never have used Uber or Lyft or any other such cabbie. The mayor of London is right on this call, as are the 10 members of parliament who urged to ban Uber. The issue revolves around horrific crimes committed by Uber drivers in the London area, including many which have been covered up by Uber. Crimes committed by Uber drivers upon their passengers include rape, robbery, throat slashings and murder. Reference Scotland Yard and the Metropolitan Police statistics. The least of the worries are out of work migrant Uber drivers, the greatest worry is whether you’ll arrive alive to your destination.
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