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LONDON – Uber earned a call Tuesday to resume its taxi license in London after accepting stricter government oversight, a crucial victory for the efforts of its new general manager to reorganize the culture of growth at all costs. ;business.
The highly guarded case could serve as a model for other cities seeking concessions from Uber, the transportation service that has evolved the taxi industry around the world, often ignoring the concerns of regulators. But the company suffered a major setback with this approach last fall, when the transport authorities in London – its most lucrative European market – withdrew their license. He was able to continue operating through the appeal process.
This case has tested the attempts of the Director General, Dara Khosrowshahi, to put an end to the accusatory approach that characterized his predecessor, Travis Kalanick, and to signal a change in the situation of the freewheel that started in California Business.
On Tuesday, a judge from the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London backed Mr Khosrowshahi's campaign, reissuing Uber's license, but for 15 months, less than the usual five years for taxi licenses. Uber had agreed to install a new leadership in London, to adopt rules to report incidents to the police, to keep tired drivers away and to share traffic data with the city. . The company has also appointed a new independent board to oversee UK operations.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whose office oversees transportation in the capital, said in a statement that Uber had been "put on probation".
"Their 15-month license has a clear set of conditions," he added, which the London transport authorities "will monitor and apply in depth".
"Uber has been forced to revise its operations not only in London, but around the world, including by completely changing its global governance structures and putting in place new systems to report suspected crimes," said Mr. Khan. .
Tom Elvidge, general manager of Uber in Britain, said in a statement that the company was "satisfied with the decision today" and that she would work with municipal officials to "address their concerns and gain their trust".
With over 3.6 million people using the service at least once every three months, a ban would have hit the company's bottom line as Khosrowshahi pulls out of Asia and prepares for a first public offer from next year.
But the size of the company also makes it politically risky for government officials to remove his cars from the road. Uber says that he provides millions of laps a week in London, and with about 45,000 drivers, his fleet almost doubles the number of black taxis. More than 850,000 people signed a petition supporting Uber after the announcement of the ban last year.
Steve McNamara, secretary general of the Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers, which accounts for about half of the city's 23,000 taxi drivers, criticized the city for letting Uber become "too big to fail." of its members were in the audience during the hearings.
The Uber experience in London closely follows his experience in other major cities. It gained popularity among customers who appreciated the ease of use of the application and its low prices compared to taxis that depended on traffic on the streets and flights on customers, and which often insisted to take money. Uber's strategy was to grow as quickly as possible to become indispensable.
But with its growth came criticism of the bad treatment of drivers, inadequate passenger safety and the harm to taxi industries in place. In September, frustrated by a series of global scandals, London revoked Uber's license, claiming that it was not a "proper and appropriate" venture, a designation required to operate in Britain.
"We had five years in a very difficult relationship where Uber felt that it did not require regulation," said Helen Chapman, director of licensing, regulation and billing for Transport for London. .
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