Uber rallies customers against London plans to tighten rules

Uber has swiftly enlisted more than 118,000 supporters in its campaign against proposed tougher regulations for the minicab-hailing app in London.

Less than 24 hours after Transport for London proposed an array of new rules for private-hire vehicles, the San Francisco-based group’s tally of supporters had reached its stated goal of 100,000 signatures. By Thursday afternoon, the number of people who had signed the petition had risen to 118,679.

On Thursday, meanwhile, Hailo, the British app that allows users to hail taxis and minicabs, said it was giving up its private-hire licence in the capital and putting its support behind London’s black cab industry.

Hailo started life as an app for the traditional black taxis but expanded to minicabs in May 2014, leading to angry protests from cab drivers. Andrew Pinnington, chief executive at Hailo, said: “As a company founded by cabbies, Hailo was made strong by its original connections to the taxi trade, and we feel we’ve drifted too far from it.”

TfL has proposed that private-hire cars would have to wait five minutes before picking up a customer, apps could not show vehicles available for hire on a map, a fare would have been given at the start of the journey, and customers would have to be able to book a driver a week in advance.

Its consultation on the proposals comes after a sharp rise in the number of minicabs, and amid the anger of black cab drivers who say the lack of regulation is skewing the market against them.

The capital’s transport authority has also proposed controls on car-sharing that could hinder Uber’s plans to introduce such a service in London. It also plans to make the navigation test taken by minicab drivers more difficult.

David Leam, infrastructure director at the business group London First, said: “Black cabs are a great brand . . . but they are expensive compared to taxis in other major cities and are not always available where and when consumers want them.

“These proposals do nothing to address these shortcomings. By making it harder for new companies to provide what consumers want, TfL has put itself on the wrong side of public opinion.”

Justin Peters, chief executive at Kabbee, another minicab app, criticised the proposals, arguing that most of the new rules were “ultimately designed to benefit black taxi drivers”.

“Reduced waiting times benefit drivers and Londoners alike so TfL should be careful putting forward legislation that means everyone waits longer,” he said.

Black cab drivers denied the proposals were intended to protect their trade. “The mayor is no friend of ours,” said Steve McNamara of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association. “TfL have done the black cab trade no favours at all. This regulation is aimed at public safety.”

He added: “This whole thing that Uber are going to go out of business, that they will be driven out of town — it is hogwash. All TfL are trying to do is ensure that drivers speak English, know roughly where they are going and that they are insured.”

Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, is lobbying the government to bring in legislation to cap the number of private-hire cars in the capital. The number has risen sharply and he believes that this is the cause of worsening congestion and air pollution.

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Two weeks ago, scuffles broke out in City Hall during mayor’s questions when Mr Johnson labelled opponents of new technology “luddites”, prompting heckling from black cab drivers who had turned up to protest.

The proposals add to the problems Uber faces in Europe, where its services have been limited or banned in some countries. On Tuesday, Uber’s European headquarters were raided by Dutch authorities for the third time over allegations the company was running an illegal taxi service.

On Wednesday, two Uber executives appeared in a Paris court. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s general manager in western Europe, and Thibaud Simphal, head of the company’s operations in France, were charged in June with “misleading commercial practices” and “complicity in the illegal exercise of the taxi profession”. The charges carry a potential prison sentence of up to two years, as well as fines of up to €300,000. The judge postponed the hearing until February.

On Twitter, one Uber customer asked: “Why are governments so anti-progress when it comes to disrupter tech companies like Uber?”

Additional reporting by Adam Thomson in Paris

Letter in response to this report:

Taxi users should decide Uber’s fate in cities / From Kaleem Mirza