Ride-hailing company Uber will have a chance to defend its right to operate in England’s largest city London in a court hearing next year after the company’s app was dismissed as unfit to run taxi service in the city, resulting in their license being revoked.
Transport for London TFL shocked the company after it rejected its license renewal efforts back in September, with the regulatory body citing Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offenses and background checks on drivers.
In London, Uber has 40,000 registered drivers and will continue to take passengers in the city until the whole process has been cleared legally, something that could take years.
During a case management hearing on Monday, the chief magistrate of Westminster Magistrates’ Court Emma Arbuthnot stated that she is hoping to hear Uber’s appeal during a five day period that will commence on the 30th of April. There is a possibility that the appeal date could be shifted further due to some scheduling conflicts.
Further hearings at the Westminster Magistrates will take place next week to decide if GMB trade union and the London Taxi Drivers’ Association can be a part of the case. Months of a legal battle between Uber and London’s transport regulatory bodies wouldn’t come to an end soon unless the two come to a new arrangement.
The newly appointed CEO of Uber Dara Khosrowshahi has apologized to their drivers in London and London citizens, while also meeting with the TFL commissioner Mike Brown back in October, a meeting that was considered as constructive talks by the two parties.
Back in November, Brown told Reuters that “there are some discussions going on to make sure they are compliant.”
A spokesman of Uber before the hearing stated that “We continue having constructive discussions with Transport for London in order to resolve this. As our new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said, we are determined to make things right.”
London isn’t the only challenge that Uber is facing, as they recently lost their license in Sheffield, the fourth largest city in England. Dara Khosrowshahi has come on board to resolves several scandals that the company has been facing, ranging from losing its license in some cities, increased competition from rivals such as Lyft, sexual harassment cases and the massive data breach that occurred last year and the role the company played in covering it up.
