Uber battles to keep London's license in the court's appeal

LONDON (Reuters) – Uber [UBER.UL] Monday, the court will go to court to cancel a decision to dismember his license in London after being declared unfit to operate a taxi service on its largest European market.

Regulator Transport for London (TfL) shocked the Silicon Valley firm last September by refusing to renew its license, citing breaches in its approach to reporting serious criminal offenses and auditing drivers' backgrounds.

Uber, whose lenders include Goldman Sachs and BlackRock and which has a value of more than $ 70 billion, has faced protests, bans and restrictions around the world.

In London, the firm has since made several changes to its business model since the loss of its license, including the introduction of 24/7 phone support and the proactive reporting of serious incidents to the city police. .

He also changed direction and apologized for his mistakes.

"I know we are wrong and we still have work to do, I promise Londoners that we will continue to listen and improve as Uber moves forward in a new direction," he said. said Tom Elvidge, chief executive of the United Kingdom, who will testify in court in May.

The appeal is to be heard at the Westminster Magistrates Court for three days and the witnesses will also include Uber British President, Laurel Powers-Freeling, British Towns Chief Fred Jones and Acting Director of Licensing from TfL, Helen Chapman.

After its five year license application was rejected last year by TfL, the company is now looking for a period of 18 months to prove to the authorities that it has reformed.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot may take weeks to make her decision, which is likely to be the subject of a new call from the losers, which means that the entire legal process could take years.

In the meantime, Uber can continue to operate in the city.

The stake for the American company is one of its most important foreign markets. Of its approximately 50,000 drivers in Britain, about 40,000 are in London.

Since TfL's September ruling, the company has also been stripped of its license by the coastal city of Brighton, in a decision it calls, and the city of York, in the north of the country.

He has, however, obtained new licenses in Sheffield, Cambridge, Nottingham and Leicester.