Uber is fighting a last-ditch battle to continue operating in London, as the city’s transport agency weighs whether to renew its licence to operate in the UK capital.
Transport for London in September granted Uber an unexpectedly short two-month permit for its ride-hailing service, setting the clock ticking on a frantic round of negotiations. Ahead of the expiry of its current licence just before midnight on Monday, eleventh-hour discussions between Uber and TfL continued over the weekend.
Uber and TfL declined to comment on Sunday.
London is one of five cities, alongside New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and São Paulo, that together accounted for almost a quarter of Uber’s gross bookings last year.
That makes securing a renewal in London vital to chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s push towards more predictable and profitable growth. Uber has also positioned London as a leading example of its attempt to become a one-stop shop for any kind of transportation and logistics, by integrating not just rides but bikes, food delivery and even public transit into its app.
Yet the company is already facing resurgent competition in the city from rivals including Ola, Kapten and Bolt.
Uber has already been denied its London licence once before. In 2017, after a series of scandals at the San Francisco-based company, TfL determined it was not a “fit and proper person” to operate in London. After a court battle, Uber overturned that decision in June 2018 but the resulting 15-month permit imposed strict new conditions.
Two months ago, TfL added even more requirements around protecting passengers and vetting drivers, including insurance and document checks. London’s transport agency said then that the brief licence period was to “allow for scrutiny of additional information” that TfL had demanded from Uber.
Uber said it would co-operate with the agency but in the meantime, its opponents have sought to exploit the uncertainty. Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said it “clearly shows that the firm have failed their probation and are still a huge threat to public safety”.
This month, on Uber’s quarterly earnings call, Mr Khosrowshahi said the company continued to “have a dialogue” with TfL. London is just one of its regulatory battlegrounds, as Uber fights against new rules in its home state of California that would force it to treat drivers as employees, instead of contractors.
“When I look at the regulatory framework on a global basis, we always have ups or downs, but the teams are making investments and I think more and more cities and countries around the world are coming to the conclusion that Uber is a good thing for the country and Uber is a good thing for their city as well,” Mr Khosrowshahi said.
However, he also pointed to London as an example of how “competitive flare-ups” could re-emerge, in spite of its overall push towards greater stability in its ride-hailing business. Its London rivals have flooded the market with discounts and promotions for drivers and passengers, driving down prices and making it harder for Uber — or anyone else — to turn a profit in the city.
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November 24, 2019 at 11:02PM
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Uber in last-ditch talks to extend London licence - Financial Times
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