Uber stripped of London licence

Rogue drivers posed as genuine ++ 45,000 face losing job ++ Khan accused of picking on taxi app

‘Millions of riders rely on us’

SADIQ Khan was accused of picking on Uber yesterday after the taxi-hailing app was stripped of its licence to operate in London.

The mayor praised Transport for London for the decision and said he was ‘annoyed’ the firm could not be shut down immediately.

The transport regulator said it had identified a ‘pattern of failures’ that put passenger safety at risk, including a fault that allowed unlicensed drivers to work.

Uber described the ruling as ‘extraordinary and wrong’ and said the problems related to just 43 of its 45,000 drivers.

It has vowed to appeal and is likely to be allowed to operate during this process.

Mr Khan said: ‘I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users, but their safety is the paramount concern.

‘Unfortunately I’ve not got the power to stop them operating straight away.’

Business leaders warned that TfL’s decision could put thousands of drivers out of work while punishing the 3.5million tourists and commuters who rely on Uber.

James Farrar, of the Independent Workers Union, said: ‘The mayor’s decision to once again deny Uber a licence will come as a hammer blow to its 45,000 drivers working under precarious conditions.

‘Many will now face the distress of facing not only unemployment but also crippling debt as they struggle to meet car lease payments. We are asking for an urgent meeting with the mayor to discuss what

mitigation plan can now be put in place to protect Uber drivers.’

Jasmine Whitbread, of the business group London First, described it as a ‘blow for millions of Londoners and visitors who rely on Uber to get around the capital’.

Matthew Fell of the Confederation of British Industry encouraged both sides to continue talking and deliver the changes that would see the licence restored.

Matthew Lesh of the Adam Smith Institute, a free market think-tank, said the decision was taken on spurious grounds.

He added: ‘ Sadiq Khan has sided with the vested interest of black cabs, who want less competition, over the interests of all Londoners.’

London is Uber’s biggest market in Europe and one of its largest outside the United States. TfL first refused to renew the company’s licence in September 2017 over safety fears. After Uber appealed against the decision, and addressed certain issues, it was handed a 15-month licence.

When this expired in September, it was granted a two-month extension on condition it made operational changes. This deadline expired at midnight last night.

In yesterday’s ruling, TfL said it had found that Uber’s systems could be ‘easily manipulated’ to allow unlicensed drivers to upload their photographs to legitimate driver accounts – enabling them to pick up passengers. It said the result was 14,000 unlicensed journeys.

One of the rogue drivers was cautioned for distributing indecent images of children. TfL also identified another flaw in which

Uber drivers who were dismissed or suspended were allowed to create a new account with the firm and continue working. Uber insisted it had rigorously audited all its London drivers over the past two months. Chief executive Dara

Khosrowshahi said: ‘ This TfL decision is just wrong. Over the last two years we have fundamentally changed how we operate in London. We have come very far and we will keep going, for the millions of drivers and riders who rely on us.’

TfL pledged to ‘closely scrutinise’ the firm during the forthcoming appeal period.