Uber faces massive crackdown in LondonTransport for London consultation proposes new regulations that would ban some of minicab-hailing app's key features
Transport for London is preparing to launch a crackdown on Uber, proposing a series of new rules that will hit the popular minicab-hailing app in one of its most popular cities.
Documents seen by the Telegraph reveal that London’s transport body is due to consult on new proposals for private hire companies that would ban some of Uber’s key features.
The proposals include a minimum five-minute wait time between ordering a private hire vehicle and it arriving, and banning operators from showing cars for hire within a smartphone app – a hallmark of the American company's service.
TfL is also proposing that passengers must be able to book fares up to seven days in advance, and limiting ride-sharing, a move that would severely hamper Uber’s plans to introduce its UberPool service in London.
The proposals represent the latest crackdown from various regulators around the world on Uber, which has threatened to disrupt London’s black cab industry as well as taxi services in many other cities, and could have a major effect on its success in the capital.
"These bureaucratic new rules will not improve your ride," said Jo Bertram, Uber's general manager for the UK, Ireland and Nordics.
"They’re designed to address the concerns of black cab drivers, who feel under pressure from increased competition.
"But the answer is to reduce the onerous regulations cabbies face today - not increase them for everyone else."
TfL documents marked “private and confidential” reveal how the public body plans to launch a September consultation on the matter "in the interests of public safety and an effective and up to date regulatory system". It is expected to be unveiled within days.
Uber matches drivers with passengers via a smartphone app, allowing riders to hail a ride within minutes. This makes it significantly quicker than traditional private hire operators, although they are regulated as such.
This has caused outrage among London’s black cab drivers and associations, who have repeatedly held protests causing gridlock in central London over the issue.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has defended Uber at times, recently telling cabbies: "You are dealing with a huge economic force which is consumer choice and the taxi trade needs to recognise that.”
However, after closing a consultation on the private hire industry in June, TfL is now proposing a series of rules that its documents say have been drafted and discussed with trade groups.
The 25 proposals in the draft document include several that would be particularly damaging to Uber, and appear designed in response to the rise of minicab apps.
The proposals TfL is consulting on the following proposals that could affect Uber:
Operators "must provide booking confirmation details to the passenger at least five minutes prior to the journey commencing". Uber matches potential passengers with the nearest riders, meaning they are picked up in, on average, three minutes after requesting a car.
Companies "must not show vehicles being available for immediate hire either visibly or virtually via an app". One of Uber's key features is a map of available drivers in the area around the passenger.
Operators "must offer a facility to pre-book up to seven days in advance", an option that would create major headaches for Uber, since it does not allow passengers to pre-book rides.
Drivers may only work for one operator at a time. Uber says many of its drivers are part-time workers whose main employer is a traditional minicab firm.
There should be "controls on ridesharing in public vehicles". Uber's chief executive Travis Kalanick has said he wants to bring the UberPool service, which allows several customers to share a car, to London.
The proposals are contained in a draft document, so may have changed.
Uber has faced difficulties with regulators in several other countries. The company's UberPOP service has been abandoned in France after it was suspended, and has been banned in Belgium pending appeal.
Uber has said it has more than 15,000 drivers in London, which represents the vast majority of its operations in the UK.
The Telegraph has requested comment from TfL
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/n ... ondon.html
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