Fairness, Uber alles

In its race to a $70 billion valuation, Uber has underpriced — and run flat over — entrenched taxi monopolies in cities across the world. Weep not for New York’s yellow cabs or London’s blacks. They were in far too many cases creaky and unresponsive to riders’ needs, and were due a splash of cold water in the face.

But, but, but: Along the way, the upstart has bent and in some cases broken important rules, treating with contempt legitimate regulations meant to ensure a level playing field for competition.

That disruptor arrogance, exemplified by cofounder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, proved potentially fatal in London, as the transit regulator Friday refused to renew the company’s license to operate in the city, a decision that will take effect if Uber loses its appeals.

By our lights, London overreached; its justification vaguely cited the company’s approach to reporting serious driver offenses, its approach to safety checks, and its use of secret “Greyball” software designed to dodge law-enforcement officials.

A big fine? Fine. The death penalty? No.

Citing that cherry-picked grab bag of failings, while failing to note a specific deal-breaking violation, appeared to backward-engineer a ban to protect the city’s politically powerful cabbies.

Uber’s largely immigrant workforce, and the 3.5 million customers in London who appreciate its low prices, will suffer if the decision holds.

It bears noting that here across the pond, the company’s stratospheric growth has been, for the most part, procedurally kosher.

Every city Uber car and driver is fully regulated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Every one of Uber’s 285,000 daily trips — that’s more than the total number of yellow cab fares — is made by a holder of an official TLC hack license, who has been fingerprinted and drug tested. Every one of 62,734 Uber cars plying the five boroughs has passed TLC inspection.

Which is why, when Mayor de Blasio sought to cap Uber’s growth on trumped-up grounds, he was called on the carpet for doing yellows’ bidding.

Fair is fair: An urgent lesson for Uber, and for its foes.