UBER UPDATE UK
UBER GRANTED FIVE-YEAR LICENCE IN SHEFFIELD
Taxi firm Uber has been granted a new five-year licence to operate in Sheffield. Sheffield Council’s licensing sub-com- mittee granted the application by Uber Britannia Ltd last month. Fred Jones, head of UK Cities at Uber, told the Sheffield Star: “This decision is good news for drivers and passengers who use our app in Sheffield and follows recent licence renewals in cities including Cambridge, Nottingham and Leicester. We’re pleased the council has recognised the changes Uber has made under our new leader- ship and look forward to working with them on shared aims such as improving air quality and tackling congestion.” Documents sent by Uber to the council as part of its application included a ‘memorandum of understanding’ which states that it will work co-operatively to promote public safety in Sheffield. The firm also sent details of its four main objectives - a regional restriction on long distance cross-border driving, support for drivers to get re- licensed locally, enhanced visibility for passengers on the licensing authority and an improved process for managing complaints against out of town vehicles. In November last year, the taxi firm had its licence temporarily suspended in Sheffield after the compa- ny ‘failed to respond to requests from the local authority’s licensing team about their management’. But the measure was lifted just a few weeks later following ‘productive discussions’ with manage- ment.
BIRMINGHAM WANTS FURTHER DETAILS FROM UBER BEFORE LICENCE DECISION
Birmingham is seeking clarity from Uber on its business model as it decides whether to renew the taxi app’s licence after granting a temporary extension. Uber, which is fighting to keep its cars on London’s streets after the regulator deemed it unfit to run a taxi service, saw its one-year licence in Birmingham expire in February. “Officers in our Licensing team have temporarily extended Uber’s private hire operator licence in Birming- ham, whilst they seek clarity from Uber around its operating model,” said the council’s Acting Director of Regula- tion and Enforcement Chris Neville.
Uber has made a series of changes to its business model in
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recent months, responding to requests from regulators, including the introduction of 24/7 telephone support and the proactive reporting of serious incidents to London’s police. The Silicon Valley firm said its application in Birmingham was still being processed and “in recent months we have been granted licences by a number of councils across the UK including Sheffield, Cambridge, Nottingham and Leicester.” Last year, it lost its licence in York due to council concerns including over a data breach. The firm, whose investors include Goldman Sachs, intends to reapply. In the Scottish capital city Edinburgh, its licence was also due to expire in March with a renewal decision pending, according to the council’s website. A spokeswoman at the council did not provide an immediate com- ment on the status of the application when contacted by Reuters.
UBER DRIVER SNARED IN ‘STING’ BY RIVAL YORK TAXI DRIVERS
An Uber driver was caught out illegally picking up a fare in a sting set up by two rival York taxi drivers, a court heard. Now the Uber driver, Rehan Farooq, has a criminal record and may face losing his private hire licence as a result of what happened on August 20 in Rougier Street, the court heard. Victoria Waudby, prosecuting at York Magistrates’ Court, said one of the taxi drivers flagged down Farooq and asked him to take him as a fare. After the Uber driver accepted the first taxi driver as a passenger, the second taxi driver filmed part of the journey. Both taxi drivers provided evidence to City of York Council, which investigated and prosecuted Farooq for working as a taxi driver when he only had a licence to take pre-booked fares. Mrs Waudby said of Farooq: “At the end of the journey, he was aware he was being followed and feared what was going to hap- pen, as he didn’t know who was following him.” Farooq, 29, from Leeds, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to operating as a taxi driver without a hackney carriage licence in Rougier Street and driving without insurance. He was fined £200 plus a £30 statutory surcharge plus £608.34 prosecution costs and six penalty points were put on his licence. He told the magistrates: “The guy approached me. I thought I would take him. It was a stupid mistake. I am very sorry.” Farooq said that he had insurance generally for his car. However, he accepted that because the insurance didn’t cover him working as a taxi driver, his insurance didn’t cover him for the journey he made after he picked up the first taxi driver. Mrs Waudby said the council received a complaint that an Uber driver had picked up a fare in Rougier Street on August 20 in a Volkswagon Passat. The car was registered to Farooq, who was licensed to operate as a private hire driver by Leeds City Council. The council has contacted Leeds City Council but the West York- shire authority has yet to decide if it will take action regarding Farooq’s licence, the court heard.
SURGE IN LEWES APPLICATIONS AFTER UBER CLOSES LONDON LOOPHOLE
Scores of taxi drivers have applied for new licences in Lewes follow- ing Uber’s announcement it was to stop TfL licensed drivers using its app in Brighton and Hove, sparking fears Uber drivers are simply exploiting a different licensing loophole. Brighton and Hove taxi drivers protested in Lewes last month –
APRIL 2018
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