Why Uber is in court again
Ride-hailing platform fighting to restore London licence
Uber has begun a legal battle to secure its right to operate in London, nine months after Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew the firm’s licence.
The hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, which is expected to last for several days, will determine the taxi app’s future in the UK.
Why did Uber lose its licence?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
TfL announced in September 2017 that it would not be renewing Uber’s operating licence, explaining its reasons for the decision in a 21-page letter.
Despite the decision, the platform has been allowed to continue operating as normal while it pursues a legal appeal.
Major issues highlighted by TfL include passenger safety, working conditions for the firm’s growing army of self-employed drivers, and a lack of transparency about how the platform operates.
Speaking in court today, representatives for the app “conceded a string of failings”, ITV News reports.
However, they argued that the company has since made “wholesale” reforms to address the concerns and is now in “fit and proper” condition to have its operating licence restored.
For instance, Uber now reports criminal complaints regarding its service directly to the police. “Previously it had logged criminal complaints with Transport for London, which caused delays,” says the BBC.
What is at stake?
Besides the obvious implications for London’s 3.5 million Uber users and 40,000 drivers, “the case has big ramifications because London basically represents Uber's entire business in the UK”, says Business Insider.
The ride-hailing app currently operates in more than 40 UK towns and cities, including Birmingham, Glasgow, Leicester and Sheffield, but losing its massive London user base would almost certainly prompt a major rethink about the feasibility of remaining in the UK.
In a sign of its eagerness to avoid such a scenario, Uber has suggested that TfL could agree to issue the company an 18-month licence rather than the usual five-year permit.
If the court rejects its appeal, the company could turn to higher courts, a process that London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said could take years.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Indian space mission's moment in the Sun
Under the Radar Emerging space power's first solar mission could help keep Earth safe from Sun's 'fireballs'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
How people-smuggling gangs work
The Explainer The Government has promised to 'smash' the gangs that smuggle migrants across the Channel. Who are they and how do they work?
By The Week UK Published
-
How Amazon’s first UK strike could be a sign of things to come
feature Big Tech is facing increasing pressure from unions as cost-of-living crisis fuels nationwide unrest
By The Week Staff Published
-
Uber files: what ‘unprecedented leak’ revealed
Speed Read Investigation exposes extent of government lobbying by Silicon Valley start-up between 2013 and 2017
By Julia O'Driscoll Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published