Transport for London (TfL) has stripped Uber of its licence to operate in London.
TfL ruled the ride-hailing app does not meet the “fit and proper” requirements for private hire operators and so is not extending its licence beyond midnight tonight.
A spokesman for the transport body said “several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk” were identified.
Uber said the decision was “extraordinary and wrong” and said it would be appealing.
The ride-hailing app firm’s existing licence expires at 11.59 pm on Monday but it will be allowed to continue to operate pending the appeal.
It is the latest development in a two-year battle between TfL and the company over its operation in the capital.
TfL had refused to give Uber a five year licence in September 2017 due to safety and security concerns. But in June 2018 a judge granted it a 15-month licence.
Helen Chapman, director of licensing, regulation and charging at TfL, said: “Safety is our absolute top priority. While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured.
“It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won’t happen again in future.
“If they choose to appeal, Uber will have the opportunity to publicly demonstrate to a magistrate whether it has put in place sufficient measures to ensure potential safety risks to passengers are eliminated. If they do appeal, Uber can continue to operate and we will closely scrutinise the company to ensure the management has robust controls in place to ensure safety is not compromised during any changes to the app.”
Responding to TfL’s decision Jamie Heywood, Regional General Manager for Northern & Eastern Europe, said: “TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal.
“We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety. TfL found us to be a fit and proper operator just two months ago, and we continue to go above and beyond.
“On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I support the decision by TfL’s licensing officials today in relation to Uber and completely understand why the decision was taken. Keeping Londoners safe is my absolute number-one priority, and TfL have identified a pattern of failure by Uber that has directly put passengers’ safety at risk.
“Only in the last few months it has been established that 14,000 Uber journeys have involved fraudulent drivers uploading their photos to other driver accounts – with passengers’ safety potentially put at risk getting into cars with unlicensed and suspended drivers. At this stage TfL can’t be confident that Uber has the robust processes in place to prevent another serious safety breach in the future.
“I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users but their safety is the paramount concern.”
