Uber given new licence to operate in London after appeal

In November 2019 the company was denied a licence by Transport for London (TfL), which cited breaches that compromised passenger safety and issues with transparency.

Uber has still been operating while it appealed, and now it will be able to continue after the judgment from Westminster Magistrates' Court.

TfL first refused to renew the company's licence in September 2017, but the firm was handed a 15-month licence by a judge in June 2018 after it took the case to court. It was then given a further two-month licence in September 2019, after which TfL rejected Uber's application for a new licence, citing "several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk".

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What did the judgment say?

Today (Monday 28 September), deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram ruled that Uber is now suitable to hold an operator licence "despite historical failings" after hearing three days of arguments at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Judge Ikram said: "Despite their historical failings, I find them, now, to be a fit and proper person to hold a London (private hire vehicle) operator's licence."

He added: "Uber has presented no real challenge to the facts as presented by TfL though has challenged the suggestion that breaches were not taken seriously and any suggestion of bad faith on their part. Their approach has really been to explain why events took place as they did."