Transport

London mayor accuses Uber of ‘aggressive threats’

London’s transport regulator declined to renew firm’s licence to operate in the city

Uber’s head of cities UK, Fred Jones, told the BBC the company would like to sit down with TfL to discuss its concerns.

Mon Sep 25 2017 - 10:02

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accused Uber of behaving in an "aggressive" manner.

London’s transport regulator declined to renew Uber’s licence to operate in the city on Friday, saying that it is not “fit and proper”.

iTransport for London (TfL) said in a statement that it would not issue Uber a private hire licence after the expiry on September 30th.

“TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence,” the regulator said. “TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications.”

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Speaking on Monday, Mr Khan said the company had an “army of PR experts” as a petition protesting over the decision by Transport for London (TfL) not to renew its licence to operate in the capital gained mass support.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They have also made aggressive threats about taking us to court and all the rest of it.

“You can’t have it both ways, on the one hand acting in an aggressive manner, threatening all sorts of things, on the other hand brief to journalists that they want to do a deal with TfL.”

Asked if he agreed with shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s description of Uber as a “disgrace”, Mr Khan said: “That’s not words I’d use.”

Mr Khan said he was “happy to talk to anybody” about the situation.

Uber’s head of cities UK, Fred Jones, told the BBC the company would like to sit down with TfL to discuss its concerns.

“Once we understand we can work with them to figure out what is it that they would like us to do and how can we move forward.”

-PA

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