Almost ten months after its license to practice in London was withdrawn, the chauffeur-driven car reservation company Uber won its case in British courts on Monday, September 28.
A judge at the London Westminster Magistrates court, Tan Ikram, ruled that Uber was now fit to practice in the British capital, “Despite faults in the past”. The London transport authority, TfL, revoked this permit in November 2019 for security reasons, but the platform continued to operate normally pending the court ruling.
To justify its decision to withdraw Uber’s license, TfL noted a ” fault “ in the California application that allows unlicensed drivers to upload their photos to other drivers’ accounts. TfL also argued that another platform flaw allowed unlicensed or suspended drivers to create active Uber accounts. Uber, for its part, assured to have since made the necessary changes to resolve these problems.
Efforts required
Judge Tan Ikram explained in his ruling on Monday that Uber was not so much contesting the TfL’s finding but rather that the authority believed the platform had not taken security concerns seriously. He felt that Uber “Now seems to be at the forefront in the sector” to make its services more secure and has made the necessary efforts. Justice must now decide what will be the duration of the new license granted to Uber. The company has 45,000 drivers and more than 3.5 million customers in the UK capital.
This is not the first legal battle between Uber and London. Already in September 2017, the British capital had deprived the American giant of its license for security reasons, but Uber had continued to practice in London before a victory in June 2018 before a court of appeal which had granted it a license to fifteen months.
