Uber gets 15-month licence to operate in London
London: Uber won an appeal on Tuesday to regain its taxi licence in London after agreeing to stricter government oversight, a crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the company’s grow-at-all-costs culture.
The closely watched case could serve as a template for other cities looking to extract concessions from Uber, the ride-hailing service that has upended the taxi industry worldwide, often by ignoring the concerns of regulators. But the company suffered a major setback with that approach last fall, when the transport authorities in London — its most lucrative European market — withdrew its licence. It has been able to continue to operate through the appeals process.
On Tuesday, a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in Lon don bolstered Khosrowshahi’s campaign, reissuing Uber’s licence, albeit for 15 months — less than the five years that is typical for taxi licences. Uber had agreed to install new leadership in London, adopt rules to report incidents to the police, keep tired drivers off the road, and share traffic data with the city. The company also named a new independent board to oversee British operations.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whose of fice oversees transportation in the capital, said in a statement that Uber had “been put on probation”. “Their 15-month licence has a clear set of conditions,” he added, which London’s transportation authori-ties “will thoroughly monitor and enforce”.
“Uber has been forced to overhaul the way it operates not just in London but across the world, including completely changing its global governance structures and implementing new systems for reporting alleged crimes,” Khan said.
The closely watched case could serve as a template for other cities looking to extract concessions from Uber, the ride-hailing service that has upended the taxi industry worldwide, often by ignoring the concerns of regulators. But the company suffered a major setback with that approach last fall, when the transport authorities in London — its most lucrative European market — withdrew its licence. It has been able to continue to operate through the appeals process.
On Tuesday, a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in Lon don bolstered Khosrowshahi’s campaign, reissuing Uber’s licence, albeit for 15 months — less than the five years that is typical for taxi licences. Uber had agreed to install new leadership in London, adopt rules to report incidents to the police, keep tired drivers off the road, and share traffic data with the city. The company also named a new independent board to oversee British operations.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whose of fice oversees transportation in the capital, said in a statement that Uber had “been put on probation”. “Their 15-month licence has a clear set of conditions,” he added, which London’s transportation authori-ties “will thoroughly monitor and enforce”.
“Uber has been forced to overhaul the way it operates not just in London but across the world, including completely changing its global governance structures and implementing new systems for reporting alleged crimes,” Khan said.