Uber and out: Cab app ban
Uber broke the law, exploited its drivers and refused to keep passengers safe. Finally, the private hire firm paid for it..
THE ban on cab hire app Uber in London, for putting passengers at risk, could soon spread nationwide.
THE London ban on taxi app Uber for not being “fit and proper” could mean a dead end for the controversial firm across the country.
If other cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Bristol, follow suit, the private cab hire company’s entire UK presence could be threatened.
The ban by Transport for London over “public safety and security” is also a warning to the “gig economy” as a whole, to treat workers more fairly.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Hopefully other cities across the UK will now take notice.
“There’s no excuse for treating workers badly and cutting corners with safety.”
The Silicon Valley-based firm has been criticised over safety and insurance issues and accused of not vetting their drivers properly in the last few months.
Several have been jailed for attacking passengers. And Scotland Yard publicly criticised the firm after it emerged it failed to report 48 serious crimes. A parliamentary report said Uber treats drivers as Victorian-style “sweated labour”, with some taking home less than the minimum wage for a 70-hour week, after running costs.
Labour MP Frank Field, who led the enquiry, said yesterday: “This could be a game changer for the gig economy.
“Uber must now respond to TfL’s decision by totally resetting its business model. This will need to be built upon two foundations – a safe and reliable service for every passenger and a living wage and fairer conditions for every driver who makes themselves available.”
Gig economy staff are not classed as employees and so have no right to redundancy payments or consultations, say lawyers.
Uber operates in more than 40 towns and cities across the country.
The company said it will appeal the decision not to renew its licence. And its 40,000 drivers in London will be allowed
Innovative services must not be at expense of customer security MAYOR SADIQ KHAN ON BANNING UBER IN LONDON
on the roads until all the court appeals have been exhausted.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “All companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security.”
But Tory Tom Tugendhat said that Mr Khan was a “luddite” who wanted to “switch off the internet”. Across the country, councils started reviewing their policies. Nottingham and Bristol councils both said they would keep a close eye on the case. Uber has been banned in New Delhi, India, after a driver was accused of raping a female passenger. In Austin, Texas, it refused to co-operate with fingerprinting. In both cities, it resumed services after deals were struck. Black cabs in London have campaigned for Uber to play fair. Paul Young, a London cabbie for the 40 years, said: “I’m not the typical anti-Uber taxi driver, but this firm have broken rules all over the world. Drivers work crazy hours for little or no money, it’s just a race to the bottom. They are never, ever, going to pay these drivers what they’re worth.”
A comparison journey between two famous Central London sites yesterday found a black cab cost around a quarter more than an Uber service. It was £16 to travel in a traditional taxi from Victoria to Trafalgar Square at around 12.30pm. The Uber charge came in at £12.59, around an hour later.
The Uber price came with a “surge charge” as demand was high. The “standard” fare would be £8.85, or potentially higher if it was very busy.
Driver, Mohammed Ataur said the news about Uber’s licence was “devastating”, adding: “We’re all shocked to hear it, this platform provides so many people with a living.”
The 34-year-old added if Uber was killed off in the capital it would have a “huge impact” on businesses like restaurants, pubs and nightclubs.
Mr Ataur, a minicab driver for 13 years, claimed: “Black cabs cherry-pick jobs and sometimes don’t take customers to further out areas. I have respect for black cabbies because they have The Knowledge, but they didn’t do enough to adapt to the market.”
Black cab drivers must have an encyclopaedic memory of the capital’s streets and pass The Knowledge test, which takes up to four years’ training. Uber drivers rely on sat navs. Black cabs now use an app called Gett, which works in a similar way to Uber, but has flat pricing which means no hefty surge charges at busy times.
Customers can pay with cards and the app also operates in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and 19 other UK towns and cities.
Last night more than 344,000 people had signed an online petition sent by Uber to its app customers calling on Mr Khan to reverse the decision to strip the firm of its London licence.