Uber shares rose on Monday on news that a London court declared the company “an appropriate operator taxi”, obliging the transport regulator to grant Uber an 18-month license for work after the termination of the previous license last year.
Stock Uber (UBER) initially jumped 6% and then closed by 3.19% on Monday after the magistrates ‘ court Westminster, London, allowed the company to officially continue in the capital.
In November last year, the term of the license for Uber to work in London has expired, and the transport regulator Transport for London (TfL) has issued a new. Despite the absence of a license, the company still could work in the city, but appealed against the ban to work.
The Agency TfL said at the time that revealed in the work of “several violations which have endangered the passengers and their safety.”
It was about a security issue on the platform Uber, which was not allowed on the platform drivers to use accounts legitimate Uber drivers. Thus, transportation services were provided to drivers who have not passed control of the company. The court found 20 of such unauthorized drivers and 788 14 such visits.
In April, Uber introduced a new system to verify the identity of drivers using face recognition and other checks that improved the security aspect of passengers.
In reaching its conclusion at Westminster magistrates ‘ court on Monday, judge tan Ikram said that he has “enough confidence” that Uber “is no longer a danger to public safety”.
“Despite their historical setbacks, now I think Uber is appropriate for the possession of a licensed London PHV operator (private hire vehicles),” said Ikram in its decision.
“This decision is recognition of the commitment of Uber security, and we will continue to work constructively with TfL,” said Jamie Heywood, regional General Manager of Uber in Northern and Eastern Europe. “Nothing is more important than the safety of people using the Uber app”.
This ruling is really a victory for Uber, which suffered its “the worst quarter in history” during a pandemic coronavirus when earnings fell by almost 30% and the company had to withdraw from several unprofitable markets.
London – largest market for Uber in Europe. Since launching in 2012, the company raised approximately 3.5 million users and 45,000 drivers in the UK capital.
As a major player in the city, Uber, at the same time facing tough competition from several new operators, including the Indian company Ola, Estonian and German Bolt Free Now. Traditional service black London taxi, in turn, criticize Uber for lower tariffs and unfair competition.
“Today’s decision is a disaster for London,” said Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Association of licensed taxi drivers.
At the same time, it’s not all the problems Uber – the company faces a number of lawsuits around the world. In court in California and the Supreme court of the United Kingdom Uber leads the judicial process, the outcome of which can be the requirements of reclassification of its drivers from contractors to salaried workers.
This represents a risk of huge growth of Uber costs and raising prices to passengers, since the company will have to cover the minimum wage, sick leave and other social guarantees.
In California under appeal in this case, Uber and its competitor Lyft (LYFT) stated that they are considering the transition to the franchise model (with fleets) in the state, how it works in Germany and Spain.
As for similar cases in the Supreme court of the United Kingdom, decision on the latest appeal is expected later this year.
Shares of the international company, Uber, has grown by 19.6% since the beginning of the year.
