Despite failing to secure a new licence to operate in the capital, ride-sharing firm Uber are reportedly on the search for new office premises in the heart of London's square mile.
According to CityAM, the Silicon Valley giant is eyeing a bigger European headquarters after the lease on its Aldgate office expires, and is mulling over options at 60 London Wall and 155 Bishopsgate.
Transport for London (TfL) has concluded that it will not grant Uber London Limited (Uber) a new private hire operator’s licence in response to its latest application.
As the regulator of taxi and private hire services in London, TfL is required to make a decision on Uber’s fitness and propriety to hold a licence.
TfL confirmed that a pattern of failures by the company, including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk, was behind their reasoning to refuse Uber a licence.
A key issue identified by the London regulators was that a change to Uber’s systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.
This means all the journeys were uninsured and some passenger journeys took place with unlicensed drivers, one of which had previously had their licence revoked by TfL.
Legislation means that Uber now has 21 days to appeal, during which it can continue to operate pending any appeal and throughout any potential appeals process. Uber may seek to implement changes to demonstrate to a magistrate that it is fit and proper by the time of the appeal.
