Private hire and taxi
Insurance Specialists 01704 270 061
UBER LONDON SCRAPES THROUGH FOR TWO MORE MONTHS
On Tuesday 24 Sep- tember, TfL granted a two-month private hire operator licence to Uber London Ltd. The decision was taken “ahead of con- sideration of any po- tential further licens- ing application.” The new two-month licence will have the same conditions that ULL has been subject to over the last 15 months, along with new conditions “to ensure
passenger
safety”. A TfL spokes- man phrased it: “
....to allow for scrutiny of additional
informa-
tion that we are requesting ahead of consideration of any potential further li- censing application.” PHTM readers will recall that, following the appeal against the revocation of
their PH operator licence previously, the Chief Magistrate grant- ed a 15-month licence to ULL, which was to run out on September 25th. However, she ordered a number of extra conditions to be attached to this licence, including the requirement for Uber to produce an inde- pendently verified as- surance report every six months; the addi- tion of three non- executive members to its board; and a requirement to main- tain arrangements with the Met for the reporting passenger complaints that may be criminal. In addition to these, the new conditions cover ride sharing, ap- propriate insurance, and driver document checks by Uber.
Following the an- nouncement, GMB Regional Officer Steve Garelick said: “Uber has had more chances than a game of Mon- opoly. A two-month licence extension is no good to anyone – it leaves uncertainty for drivers and pas- sengers; meanwhile Uber still operates an unsafe model on the streets of London. TfL has simply kicked the can down the road and shown no regard for driver or public safety.” Further, Steve told PHTM: “This is giving the green light to [private hire] compa- nies to get away with all sorts, then not be challenged. It makes a total mockery of the licensing regula- tion of this industry, and gives a wrong
example to the public.” Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) general
secretary
Steve McNamara told us: “Granting Uber a two-month temporary licence clearly shows that the firm has failed their probation and are still a huge threat to public safety. This is the second time they’ve been given a stay of execution. This time it is entirely for safety reasons. We don’t know what those reasons are; we don’t
TAXI FLEET SPECIALISTS
www.milestonehouse.com
0113 259 3697 FLEET & BUSINESS
INSURANCE ADVISORS
know the
parameters of the new conditions. We’re as much in the dark as anybody. We would hope that any ‘fit and proper person’ would behave reasonably and cooperate with the regulators.” More comment and views in Opinion.
lTaxi specialists lAll areas lAny drivers lExclusive facilities lFlexible payments lReplacement vehicle cover (non-fault)
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SERVICES
Oct2019
Issue325
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