UBER UPDATE UK
DRIVERS CAN ASK IF LONDON CHARGE IS RACIST
London’s Uber drivers can bring a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan, a judge ruled on Thursday 4 April, as a new front opened in a long-running battle between those working for the ride-hailing firm and the city’s traditional cabbies. Bloomberg reports that a union representing Uber drivers, as well as minicabs, won permission to challenge Khan’s decision to force those groups - but not the capital’s iconic black cabs - to pay the London congestion charge. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, which repre- sents the drivers facing the new levy, says it amounts to racial discrimination. Eighty-eight per cent of black cab drivers are white, while 94 per cent of those driving PHVs are from minority backgrounds, the union said in its filings for the court hearing. It estimates the levy will cut the average London private hire driv- er’s salary to £26,337 per year from £29,097, while black cab drivers will be unaffected. It’s the latest case where the rivalry between Uber drivers and those who drive the city’s famous hackney carriages has spilled from the city’s streets to its courtrooms. In February a group of traditional cab drivers tried unsuccessfully to challenge Uber’s operating licence in the city. A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London’s office said before the ruling that extending the congestion charge to PHV drivers is “an important part of our plans to both reduce congestion and to pro- tect Londoners from harmful emissions.” A spokesman for the IWGB said a two-day trial will start on July 9, but didn’t comment further. “Clearly this requirement is not on its face racially discriminatory,” the mayor’s lawyer Martin Chamberlain said in court, ahead of judge Clive Lewis’ ruling that the case can proceed. Khan decided not to charge black cab drivers because he didn’t want to reduce the supply of cars available to wheelchair users, Chamberlain said. Khan weighed the policy’s impact on minority drivers against the potential benefits of the charge when deciding on the levy, his court filings said. The union also argued the levy would hit female minicab drivers, who are more likely than their male counterparts to work part-time.
UBER WILL GET SPECIAL LICENCE IN BOLTON AFTER COMPLAINTS
Uber, which has been accused of being given an unfair advantage, will have its licence changed to reflect its business model. According to the Bolton News, Uber will be the only private hire operator in Bolton to be given a unique licence with different con- ditions on it. It is understood that a company offering a similar service has also applied for a licence in Bolton and could be granted the same exceptions. Now, a senior councillor is calling on the government to bring licensing rules into the 21st century. Cllr Nick Peel said: “Uber is operating a different model nationally as well as in Bolton and licensing regulations aren’t set up to respond to this different model.” The executive member for environmental services told The Bolton News that the changes should have happened years ago.
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But the private hire driver who complained to the council about Uber’s practices months ago said it should not bend the rules to meet the international company’s needs. He said: “It’s clear that the bigger companies within the borough aren’t subject to the same terms and conditions that other oper- ators are. That’s a fact. It’s up to the company to adhere to the terms and conditions or go away.” The news follows a report by The Bolton News in December which revealed that an office in Manchester Road which the company claims to use has been vacant for months. Drivers complained that they have to travel to Manchester for paperwork and wanted a Bolton-based office, according to a trade representative. Meanwhile, a private hire driver who works for a different opera- tor accused the council of operating a “two-tier system”. He claimed that his operator, PAL Cars, spends a couple of hours every week making sure the necessary documentation meets council requirements in preparation for an inspection. The council would not disclose how many times Uber’s office has been inspected in the past year. A spokesman said: “We have looked into the issues that were raised and can confirm that Uber is operating in line with the business model approved by licensing committee in 2015.” “We have visited Uber at their Bolton office and at their main hub in Manchester, and a full inspection has been carried out. Appro- priate steps are being taken to ensure their operating conditions reflect the agreed operating model.” An Uber spokesman said: “We comply with all the requirements of our licence to operate in Bolton and we are in regular contact with Bolton Council.” Mmmm… It would be a good guess-timate to say that the “company offering a similar service has also applied for a licence in Bolton and could be granted the same exceptions” might be Ola? They’ve applied for operator licences in several other localities recently. Also, it might be worth mentioning here that any private hire oper- ator can request – or have arbitrarily put on by the council – different and specific conditions on the operator licence, which per- tain to that operator only. Examples include discreet ID (absence of signage on the vehicles on that circuit); planning permission; drivers to work on that circuit and no other. However, the council should indeed disclose how many times Uber’s Bolton office has been inspected in the past year; otherwise this information should be obtained under FOI. Why utilise/visit the Manchester hub, if there is a functioning operator base in Bolton? Just wondering… Ed.
£1 SURCHARGE LEVIED IN CENTRAL LONDON
Uber passengers travelling through central London face an addi- tional £1 surcharge on fares within the congestion charge zone as TfL strip the exemption for PHVs from paying the levy. Previously PHVs did not have to pay the £11.50 London conges- tion charge which operates between 7am and 6pm on weekdays. From Monday morning 8 April, most drivers for firms such as Uber will have to pay the levy when entering the zone. The Daily Mail reports that ride-hailing app said the money will go directly to drivers to help cover the £11.50 daily fee charged by TfL. Uber will add the £1 surcharge to every trip that enters the zone, even though the congestion charge only applies between 7am and 6pm on weekdays. Uber said it will not add its £1 surcharge to passengers using car-sharing service Uber Pool or WAVs.
MAY 2019
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