600,000 sign petition to overturn London Uber ban

More than 600,000 people had by Sunday signed a petition asking London transport authorities to reverse their decision not to renew Uber's licence when it expires.

UBER LONDON

Source: AAP

Friday's decision to ban the ride-sharing service was "affecting the real lives of a huge number of honest and hard-working drivers" and would "show the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies," the petition said.

Transport for London said the conduct of Uber, which has around 40,000 drivers and 3.5 million customers in the British capital, had raised safety concerns.

"TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence," it said in a statement.

It said Uber's "approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications", citing concerns over background checks of drivers.

The petition, on change.org, said that Uber provided a "safe, reliable and affordable ride", and thar its users would be "astounded" by the ban.
"By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and their chairman the Mayor have given in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice," it added.

The licence expires on September 30 but Uber has 21 days to appeal the decision, and has said it plans a challenge.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday backed his London mayor Sadiq Khan, telling Sky News that authorities had done the "right thing".

"Obviously people need to be able to travel, obviously they want to be able to access cabs," he said. "Those cabs must be safe, must be regulated and must be available for all."

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AFP, SBS


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world