Uber has won its legal offer to continue operating in London, despite concerns about passenger safety
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram decided that the company should get a new license for capital
He said it was a ‘healthy’ business this morning after a four-day hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this month
While acknowledging that there had been « historic failures » and the company had a « history of regulatory violations, » the judge said Uber had made efforts to remedy the failures and had improved standards
At first, Uber saw its London license renewal request rejected by Transport for London in November 2019
TfL said a « glitch » in the app allowed unauthorized drivers to upload their photos to a legitimate account and pick up passengers
According to him, this led 24 drivers to exploit the app’s GPS flaw to share their accounts with 20 other people, which led to 14,788 unauthorized trips
The regulator said this was one of the « many » security breaches putting users at risk, Uber argued the issues had been resolved
The company has 45,000 drivers in London and 35 million customers, making the capital the largest European market for carpooling applications
Marie Demetriou QC, representing TfL, said there had been a ‘catalog of errors’ in Uber’s handling of the unauthorized driver issue, including how they raised it with TfL
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This was deemed insufficient by Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood
Uber representative Tim Ward QC said he had implemented « rigorous » structural changes since previous appeals, telling court the company had « grown significantly »
He later argued that denying the company a license would have a « profound effect » on groups at risk of street harassment such as women and ethnic minorities, as well as people with disabilities.
“London is a safer place with Uber in the market than without it,” M said Ward
This is not the first time that the Silicon Valley company has encountered problems with transport regulators
TfL previously rejected an Uber license application in September 2017, but a judge granted a short-term license in 2018
Black cab drivers have been trying for years to get the company’s license revoked A legal proceeding submission by the Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers said they don’t think she is a « healthy » business
Judge Ikram was not asked to rule on whether TfL’s decision was correct, but whether Uber was now suitable for the license
It will now hear applications on the duration of the new license as well as the conditions to be imposed
Uber Technologies Inc, London
World news – UK – Uber may continue to operate in London despite passenger safety concerns
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
