Ride-hailing multinational, Uber has been banned from operating in the United Kingdom capital, London beginning 11:59 pm on Monday.
This comes after Transport for London (TfL) withdrew its operating license over safety breaches.
TfL indicated that it established that in at least 14,000 Uber trips, drivers had uploaded their photos to the app linked to cars that were not registered to drive, meaning customers were being picked up by drivers not authorized by the company.
“A key issue identified was that a change to Uber’s systems allowed unauthorized drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips – putting passenger safety and security at risk,” TfL said.
“This means all the journeys were uninsured and some passenger journeys took place with unlicensed drivers, one of which had previously had their license revoked by TfL.
“Another failure allowed dismissed or suspended drivers to create an Uber account and carry passengers, again compromising passenger safety and security.”
Uber said it will appeal the TfL decision, and request to be allowed to continue to operate during the appeal process.
This is the second time in two years that Uber has been stripped of its license in London after TfL found it ‘not fit and proper’.
