Uber 'not fit and proper at this time,' could face a ban in this city

A ride-hailing app Uber has failed to secure an operator's license in London due to safety concerns. Uber was denied a new 15-month license due to concerns over passengers' safety. Concerns were raised after it was revealed that thousands of Uber drivers had uploaded their photos to the app linked to cars that they were not registered to drive. The decision was announced by Transport for London (TfL). In a statement, Helen Chapman, director of licensing, regulation and charging at TfL, had this to say:

“Safety is our absolute top priority. While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured. “It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won’t happen again in future.

"If they choose to appeal, Uber will have the opportunity to publicly demonstrate to a magistrate whether it has put in place sufficient measures to ensure potential safety risks to passengers are eliminated. "If they do appeal, Uber can continue to operate and we will closely scrutinise the company to ensure the management has robust controls in place to ensure safety is not compromised during any changes to the app.”

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Will Uber be banned in London?

London’s transit authority has refused to renew Uber’s license to operate, which essentially puts Uber's future in London in doubt. Meanwhile, Uber is set to appeal the decision, which the company called "extraordinary and wrong." Uber has 21 days to file an appeal and it can continue operating in London while the appeals process is underway.

TfL deemed Uber "not fit and proper at this time". Uber fired back, pointing out that TfL had found it to be fit and proper in September when it was given a two-month license renewal.

"We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety," Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said in a statement.

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