Uber had one of the worst years in 2017 that saw the departure of its co-founder and then CEO, Travis Kalanick. The e-taxi corporation has since made some changes in its management and how it operates in some markets. Today, the app lost its license to ferry customers in London. The announcement was made by the city’s transport regulator, Transport of London (TfL).
According to TfL, Uber failed to adhere to some regulations, making the app ‘unfit’ for customers and by extension, the city of London. This development comes at a time that a time when Uber had made critical changes in the manner it runs operations in the U.K.
It is also the second time Uber has been stripped of its license following a 2017 ban but was allowed to run operations for another 15 months. Today’s case will also see Uber appeal against the decision and will remain functional over that period.
As has been the case in other markets, Uber faced resistance from traditional taxi drivers whose market was being disrupted by digital services. Uber has since grown its reach and has also seen other companies create competing products in a lucrative e-taxi business.
Security cases have been cited as the main issues with the platform – and TfL says it acknowledges the improvements made but says Uber allowed riders to take trips in unlicensed and uninsured cars.
More than 45000 driver-partners sell Uber’s product in London, and it is likely these people will be without jobs should the courts find the company on the wrong side of the law.
Locally, things have not been easier after the staging of a series of demonstrations that fault Uber’s compensation model.
