Uber submits appeal against London regulator’s ban
Written by News on 14/12/2019
Uber has appealed against Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to strip its operating license to work in the UK’s capital.
The taxi app was effectively banned by the regulator in November, pending appeal, over a series of breaches that put passenger safety at risk.
TfL said it identified “a pattern of failures” by the firm behind the app which led it to conclude that it “is not fit and proper at this time”.
At the time, Uber described the decision as “extraordinary and wrong”.
The company had previously been denied a license in 2017 before it had been restored on a probationary basis by a judge.
Uber’s head for northern and eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood, said: “We are committed to Londoners and are working closely with TfL to address their concerns and requests, as we have since 2017.”
TfL declined to comment.
A key breach found was a change to Uber’s systems that allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other legitimate driver accounts.
This let them pick up passengers as though they were the booked Uber driver on at least 14,000 trips, which meant all those journeys were uninsured, TfL said.
Some also took place with unlicensed drivers, including one who had previously had their licence revoked, the regulator added.
Another failing identified allowed dismissed or suspended drivers to create an Uber account and carry passengers.
While TfL recognised Uber had taken steps to try and tackle problems, it was concerned the firm’s systems “seem to have been comparatively easily manipulated”.
There are roughly 45,000 drivers with the company in London who will still be able to use the app until Uber’s appeals process is exhausted, which could take years.
The company is currently heading to the Supreme Court in a battle against giving its drivers basic employment protections, including the minimum wage and holiday pay.
It has been engaged in legal appeals since 2016 in that dispute, when an employment tribunal found it unlawfully classed drivers as independent contractors.
(c) Sky News 2019: Uber submits appeal against London regulator’s ban
