The TfL are unrepentant though, saying that the consultation they’re carrying out will hopefully provide new regulations which should improve passenger safety, and “maintain a clear distinction between the taxi and private hire trades”.
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The statement comes after leaked consultation documents from TfL outlined a series of measures that could radically change how Uber operates in the capital.
Uber Technologies Inc. faces a severe threat to its business in London as the United Kingdom capital’s authority for transport matters plans a wholesale overhaul of the rules governing the private vehicle hire trade, including an English-language requirement for drivers and a mandatory five-minute wait time between ordering a ride and pickup. “If adopted, [the new rules] will mean an end to the Uber you know and love”, the company wrote in an email sent to London users of the app, along with a link to a pro-Uber petition that has crossed 80,000 people.
Uber said it was “shocked” by the decision and added that it was considering legal action against the NSW government.
The consultation will run for 12 weeks and closes on 23 December 2015.
Mike Galvin, head of regulatory affairs for Addison Lee, the largest private hire company in the United Kingdom, said TfL’s move came after a period in which legislation had been dropped to accommodate Uber. Earlier this week, Dutch police raided Uber’s office in Amsterdam as part of a criminal investigation and on Wednesday two executives from the firm appeared in Paris for the start of a trial, facing a range of charges, including a few under a law that bans the company’s low-priced Uberpop car-sharing service.
Traditional London black cab drivers – or “cabbies” – have campaigned against Uber for years and last month they disrupted an event with Mayor Boris Johnson where scuffles broke out.
Thousands of Londoners have signed a petition demanding that Transport for London rejects proposals to crack down on the minicab-hailing service.
“We understand that black cab drivers are feeling the pressure from services like Uber”, the company said in its appeal.
The investigation into the “sharing economy” mini-cab sector, which includes multi-billion dollar U.S. firm Uber, will explore whether providers should be allowed to continue operating under lighter, less costly regulations than the rest of the sector.
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Uber has said it has more than 15,000 drivers in London, which represents the vast majority of its operations in the UK. Uber drivers will be forbidden from poaching customers from taxi ranks, or off the street.
