Uber secured its London future in a landmark court case — but the mayor warned he would scrutinize the taxi service and take 'swift action' if needed
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Uber has won a court battle in London that secures its right to operate in the city.
Following the news of the judgment, which upheld Uber's appeal against a
Uber was "fit and proper" to operate in the city, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Ikram said Uber had "plugged the gaps" in its IT systems that led to safety risks, while improving communication and engagement with TfL."Public confidence in the licensing regime is a clear consideration," he said. "Some breaches in themselves are just so serious that their mere occurrence is evidence that the operator is not fit and proper to hold a license. I do not find this to be one of those cases."
TfL and Uber will now negotiate a license. Jamie Heywood, Uber's regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said the decision was "a recognition of Uber's commitment to safety and will continue to work constructively with TfL," adding that "there is nothing more important than the safety of the people who use theLondon is one of Uber's biggest markets worldwide, with 3.5 million users and 45,000 drivers in the city.
In the court case, Uber argued that its new selfie verification system introduced in April, which checks a driver's identity before the driver collects a passenger, addressed TfL's concerns that thousands of drivers were using fake identities to pick up passengers.
Uber first lost its license in September 2017 when TfL said theTfL decided to strip away Uber's London license again in November 2019 after identifying "several breaches" that it said "placed passengers and their safety at risk." More than 14,000 unauthorized people had uploaded fake identities onto approved Uber drivers' accounts and were picking up passengers using vehicles they weren't registered to drive, TfL said.
TfL said it also found that some drivers didn't have the right insurance and that others who had been suspended from the Uber app were creating second accounts to get back on the roads again.
TfL said in a statement in November that Uber had made "a number of positive changes and improvements to its culture, leadership and systems" since its license was revoked — but those changes weren't enough.Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
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