Keep calm. Uber will carry on in London.
Transport for London (TfL) announced this morning that Uber would be banned starting next month because of safety concerns. It tweeted the announcement, just one minute after informing Uber.
Transport for London (TfL) has today (Friday 22 September) informed Uber London Limited that it will not be issued with a private hire operator licence after expiry of its current licence on 30 September.
TfL’s regulation of London’s taxi and private hire trades is designed to ensure passenger safety. Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate. TfL must also be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a licence.
TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.
TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. These include:
- Its approach to reporting serious criminal offences.
- Its approach to how medical certificates are obtained.
- Its approach to how Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are obtained.
- Its approach to explaining the use of Greyball in London – software that could be used to block regulatory bodies from gaining full access to the app and prevent officials from undertaking regulatory or law enforcement duties.
The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 includes provision to appeal a licensing decision within 21 days of it being communicated to the applicant. Uber London Limited can continue to operate until any appeal processes have been exhausted.
Uber Will Appeal
Uber will, of course, appeal the ruling.
3.5 million Londoners who use our app, and more than 40,000 licensed drivers who rely on Uber to make a living, will be astounded by this decision. 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. 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.
That alone, according to the last sentence of the TfL press release, will mean Uber can continue to operate after 30 September.
But although this is a dramatic act on the part of TfL, it is mere pageantry. Don’t worry about it. I mean it. Uber will continue.
Why Uber Will Continue to Operate in London
Uber provides employment opportunities for 40,000 in London. Just as importantly, it provides a viable alternative to overpriced black cabs, many of them dishonest and scummy (I absolutely speak from experience).
News broke this morning and already 250,000 have signed a protest petition demanding that Uber’s license be renewed.
My family who lives in London uses Uber all the time. Friends in London use Uber every day. It is an innovative, safe, and affordable service, especially when the Tube does not operate 24/7.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, simply doesn’t get it…or at least that is the public position he has chosen to take.
All companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect – particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security.
Of course not, but that is far too simplistic a way to look at it. Uber employees the same methods of background checks that black cabbies are subjected to. Will there be bad Uber drivers and bad cabbies who slip by? Yes. Should Uber promptly report when criminality occurs? Of course.
But nearly everything in life represents a cost-benefit analysis of risk versus harm. Uber provides immense good to London. Even assuming (and Uber argues otherwise) the issues raised are valid, there are better ways to work out a solution than a ban.
CONCLUSION
The threat of not renewing the license is simply a way TfL will coerce Uber in more quickly addressing the problems it sees. That’s it. A political game. Don’t worry, you’re still going to be able to use Uber in London for months and years to come. It has become a presumed entitlement.
Check out commentary from View from the Wing as well. He’s right to express concern about the UK regulatory processes.
I heard somewhere that VERY affordable rickshaws will issue an app in London very soon. That will be the end of Uber.
BTW, on the serious note – Über is just a Trojan horse for driverless cars to displace ALL the human drivers in five years or so. With no new jobs or a basic income to keep the lower 80% “loosers” afloat. Not that they actually make a living wage NOW, for all your crocodile tears… There is a solid reason why Über investors do tolerate it loosing money every year. They know the end game – monopoly.
Uhm…. just because you provide employment doesn’t mean you can get a leeway in following a standard rules.
If there’s a bad apples in taxi, why not get rid the bad apples instead of creating bananas? Fix the problem instead of creating another.
What started as a ride sharing has turned into a full time work and employment. Employer in technology and application with employee in public transportation service.
Sure, the comfort of some people will be disturbed. Just like narcotics, first come the enjoyment with addiction follows through. You need to know where to stop. That’s the purpose of permit and regulations.
Here here
“I heard somewhere that VERY affordable rickshaws will issue an app in London very soon. That will be the end of Uber.”
And if you’ve been to London you’ll see the rip off rickshaws touting their business on Westminster Bridge, next to the cup and ball scammers. Does TFL or the Mayor do anything to clear them away?
I use Uber here in the US. In London – my original home city – I don’t bother with either Uber or cabbie. Public transport (tube, buses, DLR, Overground and Rail) are perfectly fine. If I’d need to get somewhere in central London really quickly I’d hail a black cab.
But this “ruling” is just pure spite by the Mayor. It *will* be appealed and go to court. And by the time it’s resolved the app based hail a ride will have moved on and likely Google will be the dominant player.
You misunderstand the legal processes in the UK. Any appeal will be heard on the narrow legal grounds for the suspension of the licence. And it is almost certain that TfL will have taken the appropriate matters into account and will be within its legal powers to issue or deny the licence.
Nevertheless it’s clearly a political decision. Sadiq Khan is a very left wing politician who dislikes private enterprise and innovation and he and his party are financed mostly by unions of which the black cab drivers are one. It is abundantly clear he is one of the driving forces of this decision. The courts cannot take any of that into account.
The only way forward, in legal terms, will be for Uber to force a judicial review of the decision making process – a long and difficult task. Essentially this review would look to see that TfL and the Mayor carried out the licence renewal application properly, taking into account all relevant factors and not taking into account irrelevant factors and also dealing with Uber in the same way as all other applicants.
It will be this threat which will encourage a compromise as, should there be a judicial review which goes against Khan and TfL, the consequences are dire, including prison time.