Uber Wins Back License to Operate in London After Yearslong Battle -- Update
28 September 2020 - 1:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Alistair MacDonald
LONDON -- Uber Technologies Inc. won an appeal over the
revocation of its operating license in the U.K. capital, ending for
now a yearslong tussle between the ride-hailing company and
regulators in one of its biggest global markets.
London regulators refused to renew Uber's license to operate in
November last year, after finding widespread instances of
unauthorized drivers using the ride-hailing app to pick up
customers. Uber said at the time it had fixed the problem, but
London officials said they wanted to make sure there weren't other
software issues. Uber appealed the decision, and was allowed to
keep its drivers on London's streets during the process.
On Monday, a London judge found Uber was now "fit and proper" to
hold a license, according to a spokesman for Transport for London,
the city's main transportation regulator.
In a statement, Uber said it had been granted an 18-month
license. "This decision is a recognition of Uber's commitment to
safety," the company said.
The ruling heads off a long-running threat by TfL, as the
regulator is known here, to prohibit Uber from operating in the
U.K. capital. Shortly after entering the London market, city
regulators started to accuse the company of safety and regulatory
shortfalls, allegations that Uber fought vigorously at first,
before taking a more conciliatory approach. Chief Executive Dara
Khosrowshahi has courted the city and acknowledged shortfalls.
London is one of Uber's biggest and most important markets
globally. Like other cities, it met stiff resistance from taxi and
licensed-cab drivers, but opposition from groups representing
London's ubiquitous black cabs was particularly fierce. Like other
urban centers, many residents have embraced Uber as a middle ground
between the city's extensive and relatively cheap public
transportation and pricier black cabs. The company has said it has
3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers in London.
The court listed a number of recent breaches of Uber's license
by drivers, including vehicles that didn't have certification that
they were roadworthy, but said the company had reduced the
concurrence of such offences, according to a copy of the verdict.
The court also said Uber had increased board oversight of the
issues and improved communication with TfL, adding that there was
no evidence that the company had tried to conceal any of the
breaches.
Uber "does not have a perfect record but it has been an
improving picture," the court said.
In November last year, TfL revoked Uber's license, saying it had
found 14,000 instances in late 2018 and early 2019 in which
unauthorized drivers swapped their own photos with those of
authorized drivers on Uber's platform, allowing them to pick up
riders themselves. A TfL spokesman said at the time that in some
cases it believed drivers were using the loophole to allow people
they knew to use their own accounts to pick up riders.
In 2017, TfL rejected Uber's application for a long-term license
because of issues including safety and its corporate culture and
governance. It pointed to Uber's internal use of an app called
Greyball, which allowed it to evade surveillance by local
authorities, as well as problems with the company's reporting of
crime to the police.
Uber appealed that decision and won a 15-month license, which
expired in September 2019. The regulator then gave Uber a two-month
license, which expired last November.
Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2020 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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