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Uber has won a reprieve for its operations in London after magistrates at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London granted Uber a 15-month operating license. The move is not a total victory for Uber; they are on probation and will be strictly monitored by Transport For London (TFL). Uber had initially applied for a 5-year license after making serious changes to its London operations after it’s license to operate in the city was canceled last year.
Uber Changes In London
To convince magistrates to grant it a license, Uber has made sweeping changes across the board including:
- Proactive communication with the police when allegations of a criminal nature are made against their drivers
- The appointment of 3 non-executive directors to the Uber London Board, to ensure all the rules and regulations are met
- The company is set to introduce better insurance for its drivers, including injury and sickness insurance
Our Take
Although this is a small win for Uber, they have had to eat a lot of humble pie to get it. The company had to cover the entire cost of the appeal for both parties, as well as admit in open court that it had behaved appallingly and that the initial decision to suspend its license was right.
During the hearing, the chief magistrate blasted Uber for not being a “fit and proper company.” In the wake of the hearings, Uber said the changes should influence and improve its conduct and operations around the world. Hopefully, Uber sticks to this and starts to fix what is a great service that has had more than its fair share of speed bumps.
Source: The Guardian
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It’s almost impossible to believe that Uber could actually stop operating in London.. Hopefully they are treating this as a real wake up call.
Withdrawing Ubers licence in London was a mistake IMO. It appeared heavily one sided towards the black cab industry.
If they can clean up their game then its good competition and better all round services for the consumer.
I believe that Uber will eventually just operate in a handful of major Anglo cities. Many cities have already told Uber to pack up and leave for good.
Hopefully, Uber will get it together.
Good news, I like using Uber due to money off regular codes.
Good news, and glad to hear it. I’ve really enjoyed the experiences I’ve had with UberBlack in London, would be a shame if they had to go out permanently.
This is a win for more price competition for consumers. I hope this trend continues.
This is really interesting to follow!
My husband and I have tkts on AA to LHR in late Feb so this article definitely got my attention.
I thought they are just an app-service, not a taxi company 🙂 Yet it appears London is requiring them to provide insurance for ‘their’ drivers.
I view them as a taxi-company, just as I basically view AirBnB as a hotel service, and not just an ‘app service’ as these companies like to call themselves.
When I hear Uber, I think ‘Taxi Service’, and I don’t think ‘App Service’ or even ‘Ride Service’. It’s not a bunch of people car-pooling.
Hopefully they will redeem themselves with the authorities and will continue to serve the market.
Just a small win for Uber
Better to fix it
Hopefully they fix their operating principles.
that is good news!
the apps will be our overlords before long.
One would think Uber would have smartened up way before this.
It’s a temporary license for now…they’ll have to prove they are operating better to get permanent license.
I’m happy that Uber is having someone check it and get to fix issues. It’s sad that these issues even came up.
I don’t really use Uber right now. So I don’t have to worry currently but for the future I am hoping it’s better.
Good news for us, bad news for London cabbies!
Uber has changed ride service for the good. Competition always makes the product better
I’m glad Uber has a reprieve. It is a very useful service. Not an issue in London, but recently I arrived in a country with no local currency. The buses and taxis would not take credit cards and I couldn’t change any money at the small airport. It was because of Uber that I was able to arrive at my hotel without any problems.
Great news – i do hope they come back to germany too!
I’ve used Uber in London before and found them to be very good.
not sure why everyone against Uber…
it is a great alternative to old Taxi system. but we might need to regulated a bit
So what did they do wrong other than being cheaper than taxis?
In Argentina Uber is considered illegal but they still operate (cash only as local credit cards are blocked for Uber). Cab drivers are furious and violence is increasing. I hope they fix their legal status before something more serious happens.
Worked fine for us earlier this year. We always had someone sit in the front seat, however.
Apps will soon rule the world!
Lol, I hope London forces Uber to change their name to “Uber, not a fit and proper company.”
Great news