Judge Restores Uber’s License To Operate In London, Its Biggest European Market

In a decision that ends a yearslong battle with the taxi regulator in Uber’s biggest European market, the American ride-hailing company has just had its license approved by a British judge who ruled that the company is “fit and proper” to hold a license after winning an appeals process.

Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram said Uber had met the “fit and proper” standard to receive a license almost a year after the London transport regulator, Transport for London (otherwise known as TfL), refused to extend the company’s prior license. That decision set in motion the second battle over Uber’s London operating license, after an investigation by the regulator turned up evidence that Uber drivers were still driving under others’ names, a security hole that the regulator immediately took issue with.

A ban, of course, would have been a major blow for the ride-hailing service, which has 45,000 drivers on the road in the British capital, and provides millions of rides each month.

The magistrate ruled that while “Uber does not have a perfect record…it has been an improving picture.” “I am satisfied that they are doing what a reasonable business in their sector could be expected to do, perhaps even more,” the judge added.

The issue stretches back to September 2017, when TfL first announced that Uber’s license wouldn’t be renewed, citing issues with the company’s process for reporting serious crimes committed by drivers, among other transgressions (including Uber’s “greyball” software). At the time, the regulator deemed the company was “not fit and proper” to hold the license.

Read the decision below:

Uber-v-TFL by Zerohedge on Scribd