Uber’s license to operate as a passenger service in London will not be renewed when it expires next Friday, regulators announced. Transport for London cited a number of security issues, and the possible use of anti-regulatory software.
The company says it will appeal, and has 21 days to do so. The license would continue during the appeal. TfL called the company “not fit and proper” to hold a license. Among the issues were handling of crime reports, procedures for driver licensing, and the use of so-called Greyball software, designed to hide abuses from regulators.
Uber denies using Greyball in London, although it has admitted using it elsewhere. It denies all the other charges as well, and blamed the city for favoring the interests of London’s black-cab drivers who have objected to Uber from the beginning. The black-cab drivers are concerned about undercutting of rates and having too many cars on the street. There have been street protests, including the one above in late 2015.
Uber has been quick to respond on air in news programs, angrily claiming that 40,000 drivers are being put out of work and 3.5 million customers denied their ride. However, most of the Uber drivers also take calls from other apps, including Gett, Lyft and more; Uber is the only service involved in the license case.
Uber has also launched a public petition calling for a rollback of the ruling; in a short time it has gathered over 500,000 signatures.
