Uber has prompted panic on the streets of London on numerous
occasions, both for drivers and for passengers, but in September the chairman
of Transport for London, Mayor Sadiq Khan, flipped the script on Uber by
declining to renew its operating license in the city. While the on-demand
ride-hailing app has faced legal woes and thus been made to consider modifying
its business model, Khan's decision could end Uber's London operations
altogether and ripple to other markets. It also may affect Uber's plan to
secure a multibillion-dollar investment from Japanese bank SoftBank.
TfL, which is responsible for the city's transportation
system, determined that Uber was not "fit and proper to hold a private
hire operator license" owing to its lack of corporate responsibility and
to concerns regarding public safety and security, according to a TfL statement.
These included how Uber reports serious criminal offenses, obtains drivers'
medical records and screens drivers, as well as its use of software that may
have blocked regulators' investigations.
In an effort to ameliorate Uber's relationship with TfL, new
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi met with TfL commissioner Mike Brown. Khosrowshahi
also issued an apology for Uber's practices under ousted CEO Travis Kalanick
and promised change. He continued on his apology tour to other countries. While
Uber appeals the decision, which Khan said could take years, it can continue to
operate in London.