Uber’s app is seen running in London on Sept. 22. The company’s bid for a new five-year license has been denied by London transport authorities.
Ben Fathers/AFP/Getty Images
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Ben Fathers/AFP/Getty Images
Uber’s app is seen running in London on Sept. 22. The company’s bid for a new five-year license has been denied by London transport authorities.
Ben Fathers/AFP/Getty Images
Uber’s license to operate in London expires in eight days — and London’s transportation agency says it won’t be renewed, citing a range of problems that make the company “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license.”
The issues raised by Transport for London include Uber’s “approach to reporting serious criminal offences” and how it handles background checks.
In a statement about its decision, the agency also mentioned Greyball, the software that can block access to chosen users of the company’s app by presenting only a limited view within the standard app — an ability that critics say the company used to thwart government regulators and law enforcement.
Greyball was exposed in March by The New York Times, which reported that it was used to allow drivers to find customers in cities where the app had been banned. Responding to a surge of interest, Uber said it would prohibit use of the software “to target action by local regulators going forward” — but the company also said it would “take some time” for that to be fully enforced.
Uber has 21 days in which it can appeal Transport for London’s decision. During that time, the company can continue to operate in London.
Transport for London had been considering granting Uber a five-year license. The company was first licensed in London in 2012.
Uber has faced criticisms and controversy on a number of fronts this year, from the behavior of co-founder Travis Kalanick — who resigned as CEO in June — to sexual harassment and other workplace-misconduct claims that led to the firing of about 20 employees, including some senior executives.