Update: Transport for London (TFL) says Uber “can continue to operate until any appeal processes have been exhausted.”
Confirming it would appeal, Uber said that TFL’s decision showed the world that “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
Private taxi firm Uber has lost its London operating licence after a shock ruling by Transport for London.
TFL informed Uber today that it will not be issued with a private hire operator license after expiry of its current licence on 30 September.
That means that in just over a week’s time the company’s cars will no longer be able to operate in the capital.
Uber has more than 40, 000 drivers in London, but following a TFL number all these operators may now be forced to shut down.
Some 3.5 million Londoners reportedly use the app.
TfL has today informed Uber that it will not be issued with a private hire operator licence. pic.twitter.com/nlYD0ny2qo
— Transport for London (@TfL) September 22, 2017
Uber has released a statement saying it will challenge the decision in courts.
The company say “by wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice”.
Read the announcement in full below:
Uber to challenge decision in the courts: https://t.co/IjaSjR8Xoo pic.twitter.com/p7K8JMXelx
— Techno Guido (@TechnoGuido) September 22, 2017
London Assembly member Andrew Boff has said: “This is a hugely damaging decision by Sadiq Khan that will effectively put 40,000 people out of work at the click of a finger.
“With 3.5m registered users – almost half the city’s adult population – Uber has shown to be providing a hugely beneficial service to Londoners.
“Sadiq Khan has ignored their needs and instead believed the smears and propaganda propagated by Uber’s rivals.
“Yes there are elements of the industry that need tweaking, yes there needs to be a reduction of bureaucracy for black cab drivers, but snuffing out the competition at the expense of thousands of employees and millions of customers is not the solution.”
TfL made the decision to remove the license from the US-based tech giant on the grounds of “public safety and security implications”.