Uber has lost its licence to operate private hire vehicles in London after authorities found that more than 14,000 trips were taken with uninsured drivers.
Transport for London announced the decision not to renew the ride-hailing firm’s licence at the end of a two-month probationary extension granted in September. Uber was told then it needed to address issues with checks on drivers, insurance and safety, but has failed to satisfy the capital’s transport authorities.
TfL said on Monday it had identified a “pattern of failures” by Uber, including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk.
In a statement, TfL said: “Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.”
The decision will not see Uber cars disappear from London immediately, as the firm has said it will appeal and can continue to operate pending the outcome provided it launches official proceedings within 21 days.
When TfL first rejected Uber’s licence renewal, in September 2017, the firm eventually persuaded judges to award it a 15-month licence to continue.
While TfL said Uber had since made positive improvements, reservations remained – including a change to systems that allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other drivers’ accounts. This security lapse resulted in at least 14,000 trips where someone other than the booked driver picked up passengers, TfL said.
The latest offence reported was less than three weeks ago. Some of the trips were conducted by drivers whose licences had been revoked, including one driver who was cautioned for distributing indecent images of children.
Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager, said: “TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal.
“We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety.
“On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation.”
Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, which represents black-cab drivers, said: “It’s all about public safety and the mayor has taken the right decision.
“As far as we’re concerned Uber’s business model is essentially unregulatable. It is based on everyone doing what they want and flooding London with vehicles. Uber cannot guarantee that the cars are properly insured, or that the person driving the car is the one that is supposed to be driving, as recent incidents show.”
However, unions said Uber drivers could bear the brunt of the decision. James Farrar, of the IWGB union, said it would “come as a hammer blow to its 50,000 drivers working under precarious conditions”, who would face unemployment while needing to meet car lease payments. Farrar said the IWGB was seeking an urgent meeting with the London mayor, Sadiq Kahn, to discuss a plan to protect Uber drivers.
