Uber loses London license after regulator discovers fraudulent drivers

London’s transport regulator, Transport for London (TfL), has
refused to grant Uber a new license in the city. TfL had been
extending Uber’s license to operate in London in recent months,
after the ride sharing company lost its license in 2017. TfL
originally revoked Uber’s license citing Uber’s approach to serious
criminal offences, medical certificates, disclosure and barring
checks, and the company’s use of its Greyball software that TfL
said blocked regulatory bodies from gaining full access to Uber’s
app for law enforcement duties.

TfL now says it has identified a “pattern of failures” by Uber,
including breaches that placed passengers at risk. “Despite
addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that
similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to
conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time,” says
a TfL spokesperson. One particular issue that was identified was a
change in Uber’s system that “allowed unauthorised drivers to
upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts.”

This enabled other Uber drivers to pick up passengers as if they
were booked with the original driver, and TfL says this occurred
during at least 14,000 trips. “This means all the journeys were
uninsured and some passenger journeys took place with unlicensed
drivers, one of which had previously had their licence revoked by
TfL,” says a TfL spokesperson. A similar issue allowed suspended
drivers to create an Uber account and take passengers on trips.

My statement on TfL’s Uber decision. pic.twitter.com/uMDjoIlqOW^[1]

— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) November
25, 2019^[2]

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, also backed TfL’s decision today. “I
know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users but their
safety is the paramount concern,” said Khan in a statement on
Twitter. “Regulations are there to keep Londoners safe, and fully
complying with TfL’s strict standards is essential if private hire
operators want a license to operate in London.”

TfL is now revoking Uber’s license in London, and the firm will
have 21 days to appeal the decision. Much like last time, Uber will
be able to continue to operate in the city throughout the appeal,
which will involve the ride sharing company appealing to a
magistrates court to demonstrate its app is safe for passengers.
“If they do appeal, Uber can continue to operate and we will
closely scrutinize the company to ensure the management has robust
controls in place to ensure safety is not compromised during any
changes to the app,” explains a TfL spokesperson.

Uber previously won an appeal to continue operating in London,
and was granted a probationary 15-month license last year. This
license expired in September, and TfL provided a two-month
extension until today. Uber is planning to appeal this latest ban.
“TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is
extraordinary and wrong,” says Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional
general manager for Northern & Eastern Europe. “We have
fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are
setting the standard on safety. TfL found us to be a fit and proper
operator just two months ago, and we continue to go above and
beyond.”