Uber wins legal battle to continue operating in London

Taxi app Uber has won a new license to operate in London after a judge ruled that the firm is “fit and proper” to work in the capital.

Transport for London rejected the company’s application for a new license in November 2019, sparking a ten-month battle over the future of the company.

TfL cited “various violations that put riders and their safety at risk” in making the controversial decision, and Uber faced claims in court that the fired drivers had been able to continue picking up riders thanks to an app glitch.

This morning, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram found that the taxi company had overcome “historic failures” in approving the granting of a new license.

He said Uber had “plugged the holes” in its IT systems, and has considered Uber’s “overall history of breaches and system changes,” including the impact on public safety.

“Public confidence in the licensing regime is a clear consideration,” he said. “Some infringements in themselves are so serious that their mere occurrence is evidence that the operator is not eligible for a license. I do not

I think this is one of those cases. “

The judge said the company has gone to great lengths to learn from past mistakes and has committed to zero regulatory violations, has made “clear improvements in communication” and has improved engagement with TfL.

“Despite their historical failings, I believe they are now a good fit to hold a London PHV operator license.”

Uber’s future in London was first threatened in September 2017, when TfL refused to grant it a new license in London.

Chief Justice Emma Arbuthnot gave the company a lifeline by granting it a short-term license in 2018, but the dispute resurfaced late last year when TfL again took a stand against the company’s safety record.

Earlier this month, the Westminster magistrates court heard how Uber had a vulnerability in its systems that allowed unauthorized people to upload their photos to legitimate drivers’ accounts by tampering with GPS settings, allowing them to pick up passengers.

The court heard that the fraud ultimately involved 24 drivers sharing their accounts with 20 others, leading to 14,788 unauthorized trips.

Marie Demetriou QC, representative of TfL, said that the fraud represented a “fundamental” risk for the safety of the passengers, since the unauthorized drivers would not have had the appropriate medical, insurance or criminal background checks.

“It took 18 months to reach a final opinion on the root cause and scale of the problem,” he said. “Uber thought it had hit the bottom several times.”

Another issue highlighted by TfL was the “significant delays” before Uber deactivated three drivers who committed sex crimes from its app.

Judge Ikram ruled that there had been no “cover-up” about the driver fraud problem and acknowledged that the company has responded to the problems with “industry-leading software and improved manual controls” to eradicate fraud.

Additionally, drivers suspected of fraud are suspended and reported directly to TfL.

Judge Ikram is expected to consider later this morning how long Uber’s new license will last and what conditions should be imposed on it.

Anna McCaffrey, a senior attorney at law firm Taylor Wessing, warned that Uber could find itself waging another court battle if it cannot maintain a good track record: “Uber will have to work hard to continue to show TfL and the court that it has really changed.”

Shaun Bailey, a conservative candidate for mayor of London, welcomed today’s ruling and suggested that hefty fines would be a better way to regulate companies like Uber.

“Instead of lengthy court cases, we need a huge increase in potential fines for companies that fail Londoners,” he said. “These fines should be in the millions.”