This morning, it was announced that Uber’s application for a new licence to operate London has been rejected. Its current licence will expire on September 30 and the company has 21 days to appeal – it will continue to operate until that time. TfL’s reasoning was that the company is not “fit and proper” and that “Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility”. TfL believes that Uber do not meet rigorous regulations, and that its approach to “reporting serious criminal offences”, “how medical certificates are obtained”, and “how Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services are obtained” is unacceptable.

They believe that Uber’s conduct could have security implications, completely discounting the safety implications of removing Uber entirely. While the company are very, very far from perfect, they are currently the safest, cheapest, most convenient option for many Londoners to get around. Losing the service entirely would have a grave impact on the lives of people in the city, many of whom for whatever reason cannot get taxis, buses, or walk home at night. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement: “I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners' safety and security.” Hopefully this will serve as a shock to Uber to clean up their act – if the ruling sticks it’ll affect a great deal of people.