Court date set for Uber’s London ban appeal
The court date for Uber’s appeal of its London ban is set for 6 July, with a judge deciding today that the capital’s largest taxi union can take part in the proceedings.
Chief Magistrate of England and Wales Emma Arbuthnot ruled today that the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) are an “interested party” in the case, meaning they can access documents and make submissions.
The LTDA have ran an ongoing campaign against Uber operating in the capital, regularly holding protests against the ride-share app.
Its members rejoiced when Transport for London (TfL) failed to renew Uber’s operating licence in November over a “pattern of failures” related to passenger safety.
LTDA general secretary Steve McNamara said: “As the voice of London taxi drivers for nearly 50 years, we will be vigorously opposing this outrageous appeal and defending the best interests of Londoners.
“We will be scrutinising all court documents and making our own submissions to make sure that Uber can’t pull the wool over anybody’s eyes.”
TfL said when it banned Uber, that the app had unlicensed operators upload photos on other people’s accounts, leading to at least 14,000 trips involving these fraudulent drivers.
All these journeys were uninsured and some of the drivers were unlicensed, including one person who previously had their licence revoked by TfL.
Another issue saw banned drivers make new accounts and continue to pick up passengers, further “compromising passenger safety”.
However, the company says it has made numerous changes to its operation to ensure passenger safety.
November’s decision came as a part of a longer running saga between Uber and TfL.
The transport body did not renew its licence in 2017 over safety concerns, however it was later awarded a probationary 15-month licence by Arbuthnot.
TfL only extended this licence for a further two-month period and imposed further restrictions on Uber in what was a final warning for the company to clean up its act.
Uber declined to comment.