‘This decision is wrong and we will appeal’ say Uber after London ban

After losing their licence to operate in London, ride-hailing giants Uber have said “we think this decision is wrong and we will appeal”.

Transport for London (TfL) announced today that it will not grant the minicab firm a new private hire operator’s licence following its latest application.

The capital’s regulators said that whilst they recognised that Uber has made a number of positive changes and improvements, TfL had identified a ‘pattern of failures by the company including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk’.

TfL added that they did not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.

Despite the setback, Uber have told their 3.5 million riders in the capital that there will be no change when using the service.

Uber also confirmed that its 45,000 TfL licenced drivers will be able to continue to operate while the US transport company appeals.

An Uber spokesperson said: “We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety. TfL found us to be a fit and proper operator just two months ago, and we continue to go above and beyond.

“We have introduced new safety features in the app for riders and drivers, introduced free accident and injury protection for drivers, improved our governance and compliance.

“We think this decision is wrong and we will appeal.”