Uber has won an appeal against TfL to continue operating in London.
The app was rejected an operating licence by TfL last year over safety concerns and a push by black cab drivers to limit their competition.
Over 45,000 drivers are registered on Uber in London, as well as competitors like Bolt, Kapten and free now. In its ruling, Westminster magistrates said that Uber had now become a “fit and proper” operator of taxis “despite historical failings”.
TfL was thought to have denied the app’s permit based on security flaws that allowed non-authorised users to put their photos on real drivers accounts.
The court heard the vulnerability involved 24 drivers sharing accounts, leading to 14,788 unauthorised rides.
According to the Evening Standard, Marie Demetriou QC, representing TfL, said the app posed a “fundamental” risk to passenger safety as the drivers would not have had the medical, insurance or criminal records checks needed to work for Uber legitimately.
Another issue that TfL had with the app was significant delays before Uber deactivated drivers from its app who committed sexual offences.
Magistrate Tan Ikram considered the Silicon Valley company’s “track-record of regulation breaches” into account but believed that they had improved standards.
“Despite their historical failings, I find them, now, to be a fit and proper person to hold a London PHV operator’s licence,” he said.
Magistrate Ikram will now decide how long to grant Uber’s operating licence in London and whether they’ll be bound by any specific terms.
