High Court rule in UBERS favour and Uber launch UberASSIST

Uber have won the latest skirmish in the ongoing battle between the London Black Taxi drivers and UBER.

The high court were asked by TFL to decide whether the company’s smartphones were considered meters, which by TFL’s own legislation are considered illegal in a Private Hire vehicle.

Pre Booked Private Hire

The court ruled in UBER’S favour as Mr Justice Ouseley declared that the taximeters operate differently to Uber as they do not depend on GPS or include the app’s other characteristics when calculating fares.

Both Transport for London and Uber had argued that the apps was not a meter with many black Taxi drivers disappointed that TFL did not leave it solely with the courts to decide the outcome. Some Taxi drivers had said that if the High court had found that the meter was illegal it would have left the management which is already under fire pushed out of management positions within TFL.

The LTDA within an hour of the ruling had said they would appeal the decision.

An LTDA spokesman said, ‘’the smartphone works in exactly the same way as a taximeter calculating fares by distance and time, it does exactly the same job.

The Licenced Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) also backed the London Taxi Drivers Association in its opposition to the way UBER calculated it’s fares.

 

The next battles

Transport to London are currently undergoing a consultation on Private Hire regulation and have proposed the following changes to the way Private Hire vehicles operate:

  •  Specific requirement for a English language test
  • Training for Private Hire vehicles (a watered down version of the Knowledge)
  • Operators must provide a specified fare prior to booking being accepted
  • Fixed landline must be available at all times
  • Minimum 5 minute wait between booking and vehicle dispatch.
  • Ban on ride sharing
  • Possible limit in the number of Private hire vehicles (2 years ago 1 in 100 vehicles in the congestion zone were private hire vehicles, now 1 in 10 are said to be private hire vehicles)

The above changes will have a significant impact on the way Uber operate and within hours of the proposals being leaked UBER had launched an online petition which currently stands at over 133K opposing the proposals.

Ubers Jo Bertrum’s said ‘’Compulsory five-minute waits and banning ride-sharing would be bad for riders and drivers, these plans make no sense.’’

Uber also announced the launch of UberASSIST an initiative that helps people with disabilities access their vehicles, this is likely to be another kick in the teeth for the London Taxi trade.