Uber granted short-term licence to operate again in London

Uber has been granted a short-term licence to operate in London following a court hearing.

Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew the licence when it expired last September, saying the US taxi app was not a “fit and proper” operator.

Uber has now been awarded a licence but it has been put on probation for 15 months.

The company had been seeking a five-year licence when it was refused last year.

Following a two-day hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said Uber was now considered “fit and proper”.

She ordered the company to pay TfL’s legal costs of £425,000.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “After years of operating poorly in London, Uber has now accepted that TfL’s action in refusing to renew their licence was totally justified. Today our stance has been vindicated by the court.

“Uber has been put on probation – their 15 month licence has a clear set of conditions that TfL will thoroughly monitor and enforce.”

Tom Elvidge, Uber’s UK general manager, said he was pleased with today’s decision: “We will continue to work with TfL to address their concerns and earn their trust, while providing the best possible service for our customers.”

One of the areas of concern that TfL highlighted last year was about how Uber reported crime.

The company said that it had made “wholesale” changes to the business since last September.

This includes reporting crimes directly to the police instead of logging criminal complaints with TfL, which caused delays.

During this week’s hearing, Helen Chapman, the licensing, regulation and charging director at TfL, said that Uber’s behaviour over reporting allegations to police was “very disturbing”.

Source – BBC