Uber to lose license in London today ?

Greg Bobkin · Sep 22, 2017

That TfL release in full:

Licensing decision on Uber London Limited

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.

No further comment will be made by TfL pending any appeal of this decision.

The Spanish · Sep 22, 2017

Brighton Mod said:
Have many of the posters on here been in a black cab recently, how expensive! Uber will pick you up, notify who the driver is and there's no cash involved. If a driver provides one fare a day on his way home or going to work, how can he be designated as being employed, do Uber own the vehicles, have fuel cards or a designated start time for their drivers at specific locations? Denying Uber will be bad in terms of shared journeys and the cost of getting a cab, backward step I think.

i go in loads. last time on wednesday from tottenham court road to paddington. with various recent one way changes in fitzrovia it would have taken forever in an uber and been a frustrating experience.

ii am really confused as to why people think black cabs are expensive? Well i understand they are, but why the annoyance, as if they have suddenly put their prices up? They were always the premium way of bombing around option. But there are loads of others.

I could have gone tottenham court road lancaster gate and walked. got umpteen other buses. but i got a black cab not because its comparable in price but because i am bone idle and i expect to take an economic hit due to that.

Simster · Sep 22, 2017

Gwylan said:
I don't know what that's meant to mean. I spent 22 years in London, cycling pretty much every day - I had various jobs, with commuting distance of eight to 12 miles.

Black cab drivers are, by some distance, the most best sort of drivers to be round. They tend to give plenty of room and actually use indicators, something that most London drivers are clueless about. It's van and lorry drivers that are the biggest worry.

Seconded. Like you, I used to cycle all over London and still do on Boris bikes. Black cab drivers are excellent on the whole.

Lower West Stander · Sep 22, 2017

What a First World problem this is.......

Never had any issues using Uber myself. Can't help thinking there are some serious vested interests at play here. London Black Cab drivers regard themselves as a highly skilled workforce and a key differentiator from cab drivers in just about any other city in the world. Uber took this advantage away from them.

Smacks of politics by Mr Khan to me.....

Westdene Seagull · Sep 22, 2017

Napper said:
Notified but sometimes no choice , sometimes you don't notice after few drinks etc.

My experience isn't occasionally

That's what I'm talking about

How do you have no choice ? How you can't notice is beyond me - it flashes up a big box on your screen to warn you of surge pricing. If you're that drunk how on earth can you even operate your phone enough to order an Uber ?

The Spanish · Sep 22, 2017

Simster said:
Seconded. Like you, I used to cycle all over London and still do on Boris bikes. Black cab drivers are excellent on the whole.

cycle commuters, however, seem to get more needlessly aggressive and confrontational by the day.

brightn'ove · Sep 22, 2017

Gwylan said:
I don't know what that's meant to mean. I spent 22 years in London, cycling pretty much every day - I had various jobs, with commuting distance of eight to 12 miles.

Black cab drivers are, by some distance, the most best sort of drivers to be round. They tend to give plenty of room and actually use indicators, something that most London drivers are clueless about. It's van and lorry drivers that are the biggest worry.

I respectfully disagree, having been hit by a careless cab driver literally yesterday.

The Spanish · Sep 22, 2017

Lower West Stander said:
What a First World problem this is.......

Never had any issues using Uber myself. Can't help thinking there are some serious vested interests at play here. London Black Cab drivers regard themselves as a highly skilled workforce and a key differentiator from cab drivers in just about any other city in the world. Uber took this advantage away from them.

Smacks of politics by Mr Khan to me.....

well if it is its a genius move. i would say his constituency is far more uber user than black cab

ForestRowSeagull · Sep 22, 2017

This really is disappointing - politics eh? Khan not doing his best at pleasing voters.

Common as Mook · Sep 22, 2017

The Spanish said:
its utterly back to front. so what if you can trace someone who has committed a crime. if the other option is someone who is almost certain not to commit that crime, surely thats the better option?

But there is no certainty with any of it. A wrong'un is a wrong'un and they could easily be a black cab driver or an Uber driver. The best thing that could come out of this is that Uber have to tighten up.

Another important note is that Uber has meant I very rarely see illegal mincab operators in and around London any more. I will caveat this with saying "in my experience".

Thunder Bolt · Sep 22, 2017

brightn'ove said:
Black cabs are one of the biggest causes of pollution in the city and the drivers are absolute cheating lying scumbag road-hogging c***ts.

Genuinely gutted.

brightn'ove said:
I respectfully disagree, having been hit by a careless cab driver literally yesterday.

I'm sorry about your accident, and I hope you're not too hurt. That doesn't mean that you can generalise and slate every black cab driver in London.
One careless driver doesn't taint everybody.

taz · Sep 22, 2017

In London there is an sexual assault By an uber driver on average every 11 days,, ( in a black cab there has been one in the last 100 years (warbouys) there has been at least 2 terrorists attacks carried out by uber drivers in London in last 18 months,, there has been countless deaths and serious injuries in collisions involving Uber drivers, a few weeks ago a motor cyclists had 3 collisions with Uber driver's in one month the 3rd being fatal ,,,, just some of the reasons Uber is not fit and proper !!

jameswestport · Sep 22, 2017

Wow ! Shocked!

Uber saved me one morning!

I was getting the bus from Finchley Road to Luton to go home for Christmas but somehow I ended up on a bus to Stanstead. I'm an idiot I know!

I only realized when we were on the M11 motorway and not far from the wrong airport. I managed to get the bus driver to pull over and let me off at a service station on the motorway.

I thought to myself shit what can I do now because my flight was in an hour.

I managed to get an Uber to pick me up in a few minutes and he drove like a maniac to get me to Luton and I made it to the airport to go home for Christmas

Westdene Seagull · Sep 22, 2017

Seagull1989 said:
I was always against Uber as I felt they were under cutting the taxi drivers. That was until I had to get a cab from Heathrow to a hotel in the area less than 1 mile away . I went to the taxi rank abd the first 2 cab drivers said "no dont fancy that mate " and the taxi driver who ended up taking me wanted £50 . I had no choice but to pay it and since that time I've used Uber ever since, not only because they're cheaper but they will take you where you want to go not like arrogant cabbies who will only take you if it suits them

I've had that in Brighton - got off the train at Brighton Station and it was pouring with rain. Needed to go to the bottom of North Road and not one taxi rank cab would take me. Ordered an Uber and it was no problem.

Husty · Sep 22, 2017

taz said:
In London there is an sexual assault By an uber driver on average every 11 days,, ( in a black cab there has been one in the last 100 years (warbouys) there has been at least 2 terrorists attacks carried out by uber drivers in London in last 18 months,, there has been countless deaths and serious injuries in collisions involving Uber drivers, a few weeks ago a motor cyclists had 3 collisions with Uber driver's in one month the 3rd being fatal ,,,, just some of the reasons Uber is not fit and proper !!

What a load of drivel. Blaming Uber for terrorism whatever next. Your average black cab driver is a long long way from being a film e upstand citizen they just have a different skin colour to the average Uber driver.

Always had much better (and cheaper) service in Ubers than any black cab.

Husty · Sep 22, 2017

Seagull1989 said:
I was always against Uber as I felt they were under cutting the taxi drivers. That was until I had to get a cab from Heathrow to a hotel in the area less than 1 mile away . I went to the taxi rank abd the first 2 cab drivers said "no dont fancy that mate " and the taxi driver who ended up taking me wanted £50 . I had no choice but to pay it and since that time I've used Uber ever since, not only because they're cheaper but they will take you where you want to go not like arrogant cabbies who will only take you if it suits them

Big fat old THIS. Black cab drivers are all scum

hans kraay fan club · Sep 22, 2017

Westdene Seagull said:
I've had that in Brighton - got off the train at Brighton Station and it was pouring with rain. Needed to go to the bottom of North Road and not one taxi rank cab would take me. Ordered an Uber and it was no problem.

I had similar at Newcastle airport - I wanted to go to Newcastle Falcon's rugby ground about three miles away. The Cab rank driver did take me because, he didn't actually ask 'where to?' until we'd loaded my stuff and pulled away, but he was seriously pissed off, and made sure I knew it. I understand the issue - he's queued at a quiet rank for 40 minutes for a five minute, £8 fare, and then has to join the back of the queue again. But that's really not my problem, is it :shrug:

spence · Sep 22, 2017

brightn'ove said:
That's ****ing shit.

Sometimes uber is the only option late at night and when trying to get transport early in the morning before any trains.

Black cabs are one of the biggest causes of pollution in the city and the drivers are absolute cheating lying scumbag road-hogging c***ts.

Genuinely gutted.

Pollution yawn

Titanic · Sep 22, 2017

taz said:
In London there is an sexual assault By an uber driver on average every 11 days,, ( in a black cab there has been one in the last 100 years (warbouys) there has been at least 2 terrorists attacks carried out by uber drivers in London in last 18 months,, there has been countless deaths and serious injuries in collisions involving Uber drivers, a few weeks ago a motor cyclists had 3 collisions with Uber driver's in one month the 3rd being fatal ,,,, just some of the reasons Uber is not fit and proper !!

Really?

Titanic said:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cri...s-charged-with-crimes-last-year-a3226396.html

...data released by the Metropolitan Police under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, also showed that between 2011 and 2015, a total of 1,948 drivers were charged with criminal offences.

Of these, 521 were charged with violent or sexual offences, which can include grievous bodily harm or rape.

The FOI showed the number of people charged who gave their occupation as a taxi driver or minicab driver.

brightn'ove · Sep 22, 2017

Thunder Bolt said:
I'm sorry about your accident, and I hope you're not too hurt. That doesn't mean that you can generalise and slate every black cab driver in London.
One careless driver doesn't taint everybody.

Considering the number of near misses with black cabs I experience weekly, it's not just one driver, it's an endemic problem with their attitude on the road.

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Uber to lose license in London today ?

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