TfL proposes Uber crackdown

Black cab drivers have always been vocal about their disapproval of the taxi app, and the new proposals can be seen as TfL bowing to this pressure.

100,000 Uber users in the Capital have come out in support of the start-up, while the Institute of Directors dubbed the proposals “damaging”, to London’s reputation as a global centre for innovation.

“If adopted, [the proposals] will mean an end to the Uber you know and love today”, the petition states.

Uber says many of its drivers are part-time workers whose main employer is a traditional minicab firm.

TFL’s public consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing in late December.

Transport for London (TfL) is reportedly considering cracking down on Uber, with a list of new regulations that will severely affect how the taxi app functions.

And people wanting to be drivers for Uber or other ride-sharing services will have to pay a $150 each year in licence and accreditation fees, plus charges for vehicle inspections and background checks.

London’s transport regulator TfL has introduced a set of tough new proposals that would effectively kneecap Uber in London.

It’s also purported to be proposing that private hire operators like Uber would have to stop showing cars available at a given time within its smartphone app. The Twitter feed is a stream of pictures of cars that have been in accidents. Uber may have taken London by storm, but black cabs have refused to go down without a protest-filled punch up (nor, indeed, a hefty amount of Twitter trolling, as our editor found out after he wrote this).

The rules include English language skills for drivers, stricter insurance requirements, a map reading test, demands for a landline, and the ability to book a vehicle up to 7 days in advance.

The San Francisco-based company has faced regulatory problems and objections from local taxi drivers in countries around the world since it first launched.

City staff will now develop regulations to level the playing field & ensure all drivers operate safely, fairly & within the rules.

Uber has not received the clampdown lightly, and its petition against the proposals has already garnered close to 75,000 signatures.

“We are shocked that the Roads and Maritime Services did not appear to show these drivers any due process and we are reviewing the legal options to reverse this decision”, Uber said. We are also committed to maintaining a clear distinction between the taxi and private hire trades and further improving the quality, safety, accessibility and overall standard of private hire vehicle provision in London.