Uber cabs remain on Birmingham roads after winning legal battle

Transport for London (TfL), the local government body which regulated the operation of taxis and PHVs in London, had previously said it did not believe Uber’s use of smartphones was equivalent to a taximeter – but had deferred the final decision to the High Court.

The solution to the last few problems, for so many young Londoners – especially young women – is to get an Uber. That’s why 130,000 people have already signed our petition against these proposals. They said that the app calculating the journey fare, using Global Positioning System signals, broke this law.

But the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), which represents a substantial proportion of the 25,000 licensed taxi drivers in London, asked the judge to rule it was a meter and ban its use. These could include requiring private hire vehicles like Uber to give passengers details of their ride five minutes before it arrives, and preventing operators from showing cars available to hire in an app.

“We understand black cab drivers are feeling the pressure from more competition”.

Uber is considered a PHV in the United Kingdom, and thus a negative ruling could like have placed serious limitations on the service, if not an outright ban.

Uber may be embroiled in a long running dispute with black cab firms in London, but that isn’t stopping the multi-billion U.S. firm from expanding into Scotland.

The LTDA was not pleased, however, and said via Twitter that it had lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said the company was “systematically” skirting around the law.

Mr Justice Ouseley, sitting in London, ruled Uber apps did not constitute taximeters and there was nothing to prevent minicab drivers and their customers enjoying “any improvement which technology might bring in the speed and accuracy of their fare calculations”.

While Transport for London didn’t initially regard the Uber app to be a meter, a change in the administration’s mood has brought about a reassessment of the app’s status.

TfL recently proposed compulsory five-minute waits before Uber drivers could pick up passengers, among other measures. “But the answer is to level the playing field by reducing today’s burdensome black cab regulations”, she added.