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Fife operators launch fundraiser to legal challenge recent Uber licensing approval decision
A group of operators calling themselves ‘Uber Fife’ has launched a CrowdJustice fundraiser to support a legal challenge over Fife Council’s decision to grant Uber Scot Ltd a booking-office licence for premises in Rosyth.
Council agenda papers record that 431 objections were received within the deadline. At a hearing on 22 September, Uber’s solicitor challenged whether the objections were legally competent. After taking legal advice, the committee ruled that there were no competent objections and granted the licence. Twenty-five objectors who had been invited to speak were not allowed to present their case.
The CrowdJustice case asks whether Uber’s application was valid and whether the objections were lawfully rejected. According to the case page, Fife Council has confirmed that Uber applied electronically but cannot produce the statutory determination governing electronic submissions.
William Laing, of Prompt Taxis, said: “Local operators are expected to follow Fife Council’s licensing rules in every detail. We are entitled to expect the same standard from a major platform seeking to operate here. This challenge is about whether the rules were applied consistently, whoever the applicant happens to be.”
Sam Green, of Magnum Taxis, said: “This challenge matters beyond the taxi trade. People took the time to object to a licensing application, but their objections were not heard. The legal challenge can establish whether the rules for making those objections were lawful and clear. The public should be able to take part in a licensing process without finding out at the hearing that their submissions do not count.”
Linda Holt, of St Andrews Taxis, said: “The committee had 431 objections on record, invited 25 objectors to speak, then heard none of them before granting the licence. Now the question of electronic submissions cuts both ways: if the Council cannot produce the determination governing electronic submissions, how can anyone be confident the same rules were applied to Uber’s application and to the objections? It looks as if, for whatever reason, Fife Council unfairly favoured Uber’s interests against those of local taxi operators, and our only recourse now is a legal challenge.”
