TfL grants Uber 30-month licence to operate in London
Transport for London (TfL) has granted Uber a 30-month licence to operate in the capital, the company announced today.
“We’re delighted to announce TfL has granted Uber a new 30 month licence in London,” Uber said in a tweet this morning. “TfL rightly holds our industry to the highest regulatory and safety standards and we are pleased to have met their high bar.
“As we continue to serve London, we remain focused on raising industry standards in all areas. These include offering drivers the benefits and protections they deserve, ensuring all Londoners can get around safely and becoming a fully electric platform by 2025”
TfL’s decision comes despite London cabbies calling on mayor Sadiq Khan to set tougher worker rights on the app’s application, CityAM reported.
According to the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), Uber has failed to abide by the Supreme Court ruling from February 2021 that said that the ride-hailing app needed to pay drivers at least minimum wage and holiday pay from the period of log on to log off.
TfL denied Uber the licence to operate in 2019, citing “several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk” but a court overruled the body’s decision a year later on the basis Uber had tried to improve standards.
Commenting on today’s decision, ADCU’s president Yaseen Aslam said the licence will “inevitably lead to congestion, more pollution and more poverty.”