Opinion
WHOEVER SAID AUGUST WAS A QUIET MONTH…?!
Regular PHTM readers will know that we often have christened this time of year,mainly themonth of August, the “kipper season” (for some reason still unknown to the writer) signifying that things are a bit quiet in the trade: the kids are off school so no school runs; a lot of folk are on holiday out of area; universities are quiet, sports with the highest level of interest have trailed off so less trips home frompubs…
Well, in the midst of this yawning stagnation you can take a break and read about all the most recent developments on the front line, as it were – starting in London.
As most PHTM readers will know by now – and if not, you can read about it on the front page of this edition – Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) Emma Arbuthnot granted Uber London Ltd a 15- month ‘probationary’ private hire operator licence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 26 June 2018.
Hardly anybody was surprised that Uber would get a licence back; what surprised some folk was the brief period of time the licence spans. What is even more surprising is that we actually have a tran- script of the proceedings at Westminster Mags; most magistrates’ court hearings are not recorded. So that’s a record in itself.
Because of the way our publication and printing dates fall, we were not able to report this rather significant development in the July PHTM, so here it is now.We might as well get the “Yeah, yeah, yada yada” side of it out of the way first: it soon hit the airwaves (old fash- ioned term for social media) that the Senior District Judge is married to the Rt Hon Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, who happens to be a friend of PhilipMay, the husband of the PrimeMinister and at some time “until recently”, an Uber investor. I’m just passing this on with- out comment; it’s a bit like one of those notifications on Wikipedia that “requires citation”.
However, if you look at the actual transcript of Emma Arbuthnot’s judgment she does display an extensive knowledge of the subject matter; she obviously has done a lot of research into the background of the case. She outlines the series of events prior to Transport for London refusing to renew Uber London Ltd’s private hire operator licence last September; matters that have arisen since that time and since Uber lodged their appeal; and changes implemented or pro- posed by Uber from that point onwards.
She also dismissed submissions that Uber was severely transgressing cross-border regulations, finding that [those arguments] “… are [not] relevant to thematters I have to decide”. Instead she concentrates on the rather lengthy list of conditions which have been put in place by TfL and agreed by Uber to correct the series of misdemeanours that had rendered Uber not to be a fit and proper person.
Interestingly, that list of agreed conditions amounts to 14 specific conditions taking up four and a half pages of A4 text, spreading over damned near as much of a word count as the Magistrates’ decision! For that reason I’ll not duplicate them here; they will be available to all Association members (hint hint) at the drop of an email.
Suffice to say that Uber is on probation: they must adhere to these conditions over the next 15 months or else. Or else what? We shall see. Another interesting note: going into this hearing Uber them- selves requested an operator licence for only 18 months – not five years, which is of course the norm these days.
8
AUGUST 2018
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