Uber loses its London licence

[RooFlyer]

Decision will be appealed.

The Uber app has completely changed the London minicab and taxi market. As a "disruptive" technology it was popular and cheap.

But although Uber claims 3.5m Londoners use the app and there are 40,000 drivers, the company has been dogged with controversy in London.

It has been blamed for congestion, failing to report sexual offences, not doing proper criminal checks and a rise in collisions.

It has also been criticised by unions for poor working conditions of drivers.

Right up until the last minute, even the black cab organisations which have been fighting Uber since their arrival in 2012 were not certain they had won.

So this is a big shock to the industry and it will reverberate right around the world where the company is trying to operate.

This decision will be appealed and eventually probably go through the courts so it's not quite over for Uber in London yet.

 

[cove]

Uber Eats is unaffected as they only carry food.

 

[Quickstatus]

What's was the reason for its demise in China?

 

[moa999]

They sold out to the competition.
Was reportedly lots of discounts and vouchers in the market and lots of gaming (by cycling accounts) by both passengers and drivers

 

[Quickstatus]

Didn't they get a 20% stake in the incumbent as part of that transaction?

Uber has never got on the right side of any regulator. Their corporate culture has been quite bullyboy. Great idea but saying they are not taxis when they practically are is what riles most

 

[Berlin]

I moved back to Australia from a 3 year stint over in London just a short while ago. If any word describes life over there, it would hard. We were on a decent wage but even so, life felt hard and difficult throughout our stay there. Uber often was our life saver, imagining London without it sounds just scary to us.

And don't even get me started on those damn black taxis: Arrogant, aggressive, not rarely displaying body odor of the worst kind and totally overpriced. If Sydney cabs are bad (and they only too often are), those black things from a past century are even worse.

 

[cove]

We use the recommended chauffeur service that our building management recommend. Usually a Mercedes or a BMW and cheaper than a London cab by about 40%.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Having taken several black cabs in London over the past week or so it’s truly amazing how many of them have inoperable credit card machines
The machine often springs to life when I offer them a Scottish £20 Bank note instead

 

[Berlin]

Having taken several black cabs in London over the past week or so it’s truly amazing how many of them have inoperable credit card machines

I once got nearly killed by a reckless black cab driver whom I asked upon entering his car whether I can pay by credit card. He grunted something weird and started driving off with one of my legs and my bag still stuck in the car.

I downloaded the Uber app that very evening and never looked back once. How to lose your business, lesson 1.01