Uber not longer has a license to operate in London.
The decision to pull Uber’s license to operate in London was made by the Transport for London. It cites concerns about the company’s hiring practices and unwillingness to report criminal offences as the reason for revoking its license.
Keeping Uber from operating in London has caused a bit of a split between the people in the city. Taxi companies are happy with the decision, as are some government officials. However, there are 3.5 million passengers and 40,000 drivers that use the app in the city.
Uber says that it won’t be taking this decision lying down. The company has 21 days to appeal the decision and plans to immediately challenge it in court. This may work out well for the ride-sharing company. It has been in conflict with regulators before and it typically wins its cases.
“This will be seen as a Luddite decision by millions of Londoners and international visitors who use Uber, and will also hit London’s reputation as a global tech hub,” David Leam, a member of advocacy group London First, told BBC News.
Uber also found itself in hot water last month over the cars it lends out to users in Singapore. A report claimed that it knowingly bought defective vehicles and was lending them out to drivers. One case even resulted in the car catching fire.
Uber more recently made a minor misstep when pushing its Wife Appreciation Day promotion. It urged husbands to “let your wife take a day off from the kitchen.” The promotion caught some backlash from users on social media.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
