A UK court said amendments Uber made to its app and other operational changes were sufficient to reinstate the company’s operating licence in London.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday (26 June) renewed the taxi-hailing app company’s licence for 15 months, after being persuaded it had addressed concerns raised by transit authority Transport for London (TfL), which declined to renew Uber’s operating licence in September 2017.
TfL declared Uber was “not fit and proper” to operate its service in the city, citing concerns over a “lack of corporate responsibility” and questions regarding the safety and security of the public, particularly policies for “reporting serious criminal offences”.
In a statement, Uber told Mobile World Live it made significant changes to address these issues in recent months, including amending its app to make it clear to travellers their booking had been taken by Uber London and drivers were licensed by TfL.
The court case was held to decide if the changes Uber implemented meant it now met the required standards rather than dispute the authority’s original concerns. Indeed, Uber admitted in arguments presented to the court its operation was not up to scratch at the time.
Other changes Uber highlighted to the court include proactively reporting serious incidents directly to the police instead of relying on drivers or passengers to do so. It also introduced policies to ensure drivers cannot use the app in areas where they are not licensed to do so.
It stated more than 3.5 million passengers “regularly use the Uber app” in the city.
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