AfterDawn: News

Uber loses license to operate in London

Ride-hailing service Uber will not be issued a new license to operate in the city of London after its current license expires on September 30.

The decision was made by Transport for London (TfL) and affects over 40,000 Uber drivers and an estimated 3.5 million passengers. According to the TfL, the decision was made for public safety and security reasons. London mayor, Sadiq Khan, backed the decision publicly.



"I fully support TfL's decision - it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners' safety and security," Khan said.

Uber said it will appeal the decision, and added that it signals to the world that London is far from being open, and is "closed to innovative companies."

"By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and the mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice," said Tom Elvidge, general manager for Uber in London.

"If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. To defend the livelihoods of all those drivers, and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners who use our app, we intend to immediately challenge this in the courts."

Uber will be able to continue operating in London while an appeal is processed.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 22 Sep 2017 17:40

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• 9 comments

• scorpNZ

  What a load of tripe.2 Assaults from uber drivers over a period of time was the same for black cabs over that same period.Need a better excuse than that.More like black cabs getting spanked & trying to protect their monopoly (i assume its a monopoly they have)
  

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  23.9.2017 15:41 #1

• hearme0

  GOOD!
  
  Uber...while not a horrible idea is more problematic than it's worth.
  
  Sadly Uber and Lyft drivers are generally bottom-scraping losers that think similarly to that of younger kids with computers in that..."I have one so I'll make money off of it and claim I'm an expert".
  
  What I'm trying to say is that a great many think they can be network engineers or admins or tech support just because they have computers.....in the same respect, they are often idiots out there needing money that entitled their dumb asses to become professional drivers when sadly, they're f'ing idiots on the road and just add to an already stupid mess on the road. I have yet to see a "solid" Uber/Lyft driver.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionately empower the average moron with a drivers license to think they can and should drive for a living....THEY SHOULDN'T!!!
  
  Uber will let anyone drive that "seems" like they don't have nefarious or haphazardly idiotic backgrounds.

  24.9.2017 14:10 #2

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by hearme0: GOOD!
  
  Uber...while not a horrible idea is more problematic than it's worth.
  
  Sadly Uber and Lyft drivers are generally bottom-scraping losers that think similarly to that of younger kids with computers in that..."I have one so I'll make money off of it and claim I'm an expert".
  
  What I'm trying to say is that a great many think they can be network engineers or admins or tech support just because they have computers.....in the same respect, they are often idiots out there needing money that entitled their dumb asses to become professional drivers when sadly, they're f'ing idiots on the road and just add to an already stupid mess on the road. I have yet to see a "solid" Uber/Lyft driver.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionately empower the average moron with a drivers license to think they can and should drive for a living....THEY SHOULDN'T!!!
  
  Uber will let anyone drive that "seems" like they don't have nefarious or haphazardly idiotic backgrounds. The main difference between a normal cab company an Uber is that Uber drivers at least have cars and rating systems. The permit systems in most cities guarantee that only a handful of rich people can get permits...then they buy some crummy used cars and hire people that can hardly afford food, let alone a car.
  
  Uber is far from perfect...but they are still better than the alternative. If London actually wanted to fix their transportation they would address the reasons why Uber is so popular in the first place.

  24.9.2017 21:09 #3

• nintenut

  That's Sadiq Khan, of all people, claiming to support the banning of something for the safety of londoners. My ass!
  
  Driver assaults are part and parcel of living in a big city. :^)
  
  This boils down to money exchanging hands, best case scenario.
  

  
  

  25.9.2017 04:02 #4

• Bozobub

  Originally posted by hearme0: GOOD!
  
  Uber...while not a horrible idea is more problematic than it's worth.
  
  Sadly Uber and Lyft drivers are generally bottom-scraping losers that think similarly to that of younger kids with computers in that..."I have one so I'll make money off of it and claim I'm an expert".
  
  What I'm trying to say is that a great many think they can be network engineers or admins or tech support just because they have computers.....in the same respect, they are often idiots out there needing money that entitled their dumb asses to become professional drivers when sadly, they're f'ing idiots on the road and just add to an already stupid mess on the road. I have yet to see a "solid" Uber/Lyft driver.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionately empower the average moron with a drivers license to think they can and should drive for a living....THEY SHOULDN'T!!!
  
  Uber will let anyone drive that "seems" like they don't have nefarious or haphazardly idiotic backgrounds.
  Yeah, it's all the drivers' fault, mmhm.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionally take advantage of their drivers. Save us the misplaced ire, please.

  28.9.2017 06:58 #5

• Bozobub

  Originally posted by KillerBug: The main difference between a normal cab company an Uber is that Uber drivers at least have cars and rating systems. The permit systems in most cities guarantee that only a handful of rich people can get permits...then they buy some crummy used cars and hire people that can hardly afford food, let alone a car.
  
  Uber is far from perfect...but they are still better than the alternative. If London actually wanted to fix their transportation they would address the reasons why Uber is so popular in the first place.
  Frankly, Uber (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Lyft) treats its employees even worse than traditional hack companies, which is quite an "accomplishment". NOT a fan, especially after their attempts to illegally sidestep regulations (i.e. "greyballing" and the like).

  28.9.2017 07:00 #6

• hearme0

  Originally posted by Bozobub: Originally posted by hearme0: GOOD!
  
  Uber...while not a horrible idea is more problematic than it's worth.
  
  Sadly Uber and Lyft drivers are generally bottom-scraping losers that think similarly to that of younger kids with computers in that..."I have one so I'll make money off of it and claim I'm an expert".
  
  What I'm trying to say is that a great many think they can be network engineers or admins or tech support just because they have computers.....in the same respect, they are often idiots out there needing money that entitled their dumb asses to become professional drivers when sadly, they're f'ing idiots on the road and just add to an already stupid mess on the road. I have yet to see a "solid" Uber/Lyft driver.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionately empower the average moron with a drivers license to think they can and should drive for a living....THEY SHOULDN'T!!!
  
  Uber will let anyone drive that "seems" like they don't have nefarious or haphazardly idiotic backgrounds.
  Yeah, it's all the drivers' fault, mmhm.
  
  Uber and Lyft disproportionally take advantage of their drivers. Save us the misplaced ire, please.
  
  Misplaced ire???
  
  You are dumb as a box of rocks man. Totally misread the entire point of my comment. NOTHING to do with their drivers being taken advantage of was discussed or mentioned.
  
  Stay on topic ya douche!
  
  Your decision-making privileges should be removed.

  28.9.2017 18:58 #7

• Bozobub

  Seriously? You may apply lips to my anal ring, idiot. Make sure to apply proper suction!
  
  You were badmouthing the drivers, while saying exactly zip about the companies themselves; instant fail. May YOU be forced to work the gig economy, you insufferable wanker and "bottom-scraping loser".
  
  Learn to speak like an adult and I'll return to treating you like one; otherwise, go piss up a tree. Your silly insults impress no one but yourself and you're bad at it anyway, so lose the foul mouth if you don't want to be continually embarrassed in public.

  28.9.2017 19:15 #8

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by Bozobub: Originally posted by KillerBug: The main difference between a normal cab company an Uber is that Uber drivers at least have cars and rating systems. The permit systems in most cities guarantee that only a handful of rich people can get permits...then they buy some crummy used cars and hire people that can hardly afford food, let alone a car.
  
  Uber is far from perfect...but they are still better than the alternative. If London actually wanted to fix their transportation they would address the reasons why Uber is so popular in the first place.
  Frankly, Uber (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Lyft) treats its employees even worse than traditional hack companies, which is quite an "accomplishment". NOT a fan, especially after their attempts to illegally sidestep regulations (i.e. "greyballing" and the like).
  Yes, they do treat the drivers like s**t. But for the end user it is still a better experience. I'm not saying that's a reason you should use them, only that it is the reason people DO use them, and also that the traditional competition really doesn't treat people like people either.
  
  London isn't as bad as places like NYC for the costs of doing business as a legitimate taxi, but it's still pretty unreasonable...and that makes the cost to the customer amazingly high without making the driver income livable. The standards also limit what vehicles can be used pretty aggressively...for example, taxis in London have to be wheel chair accessible and there are talks of forcing them to go all-electric (they already have to be ULEV to operate in London proper). Even before Uber there were armies of unlicensed cabs running around because of these standards...and they are still around. If Uber had no rating system and it devolved into a full-on criminal syndicate...it would be something like what London has had the whole time. Basically the government has handed over a huge portion of the market to these people...and if the concern was actually about the safety of passengers then they have failed in the worst possible way.

  7.10.2017 11:57 #9