Uber copped a significant blow overnight, with officials in London declaring that the ride-sharing service is unfit to operate in the city, and stripping it of its license from the end of this month.
In a decision expected to hit more than 40,000 drivers in one of the world’s busiest cities, Transport for London officials said that Uber is not “fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license.”
In handing down its decision, the local government body criticised Uber for its approach to handling serious criminal offences and failure to conduct background checks on drivers.
Transport for London also criticised the service for refusal to cooperate with regulatory bodies, and “preventing officials from undertaking regulator or law enforcement duties.”
A statement to the media read:
“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.”
The city’s Metropolitan Police have also accused the ride-sharing service of ignoring public safety, claiming that last month, it failed to report a sexual assault on a passenger by a driver.
Uber, which has operated in London since 2012 and claims to have close to 3.5 million users in the city, has 21 days to appeal the decision, and will keep conducting business throughout that time.
Londoners on social media are not taking the news amazingly well:
When a Black Cab driver tells you how much the journey home from Central London will cost. #Uber pic.twitter.com/bCG9U8nGKu
— Alex Johnson 🇺🇦 (@AlexndrJohnson) September 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/matt_james89/status/911171411129110528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elleuk.com%2Flife-and-culture%2Fculture%2Fnews%2Fa38827%2Ftransport-for-london-will-not-renew-ubers-licence%2F
Uber itself has shot back, accusing the city of caving into special interests “who want to restrict consumer choice,” presumably the influential cab industry.
“This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers,” they said.
