London grants Uber two-month extension

Uber’s application to renew its private hire operating licence in London has been rejected by regulators.

Transport for London (TfL) has instead given the ride-hailing provider a two-month extension to its licence, which expired 25 September.

A TfL spokesperson said: “Uber London has been granted a two-month private hire operator licence to allow for scrutiny of additional information that we are requesting ahead of consideration of any potential further licensing application.”

It is the second time in two years that TfL has rejected Uber’s application for a full operating licence.

In September 2017, at the end if its first five-year licensing period, TfL said Uber was not a “fit and proper” firm, citing concerns including passenger safety, which included its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and driver background checks. On appeal, Uber was granted a 15-month provisional licence.

Simon Hania, Data Protection Officer for Uber said his role as internal regulator has been to ensure the company achieves its high level goal of being a “fit and proper” company and advise senior management. A key focus of which has been on passenger and driver safety.

“As a company we run quite a thorough GDPR programme and we have beefed-up our compliance with GDPR, as compared to the previous Act in the UK, and this was one of the things that TfL have looked at,” he told Cities Today on the sidelines of the City Leadership Forum hosted by Amsterdam and convened by the Cities Today Institute.

He added that as the internal “watchdog” he is ensuring that the use of data fosters privacy and at the same time safety.

“Safety of course is the biggest concern in this space,” he added.

The two-month licence includes additional conditions attached to ensure passenger safety, covering ride-sharing, insurance and checks on driver’s documentation by Uber.

A spokesperson for Uber London pledged to “continue to work closely with TfL” and recognised that the company has more work to do to increase trust in its service.

“Over the past two years, we’ve launched a range of new safety features in the app, introduced better protections for drivers and our Clean Air Plan is helping to tackle air pollution,” said the spokesperson.