Uber, Lamenting Cost of Tad Reputation,' Loses London License Transport for LOndon, the pally Over the past few years, lenge for Uber's new chief execu- By PRASHANT S. RAG agency that oversees the city's Uber has been temporarily forced tive, Dara Khosrowshahi, who re- and MIKE ISAAC subways, buses and taxicabs, de- out Of a few fmajor n:iarkets, like placed its founder, Travis Kala- clared that Uber was not suffi- Delhi in India and Anstin, Tex. nick, in August. The company has jje i'Srut Doric nuto LONDON — Uber's history of ciently "fit and proper." The desig- Uber also voluntarily left China af- faced an array of controversies scandals and disregard for local nation carries significant weight ter selling its business there to a over the past year or so, including 19 .2017 T, 1,1 1 inw• Company SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23,2017 rules finally caught up With it on in Britain. rival, Didi Chtudng. But it had charges of insufficient back- Friday, when London declined to The decision,Which Ube- plans never been told'to leave a Market ground checks on drivers, the use renew the ride-hailing .01461'0 to appeal, raises the possibility as important as London. of software to evade the gaze of license te OPerate iñ the city; its that other cities could be embold- Losing the license to operatein the authorities and complaints of largest European market. ened to crack down on the corn- London presents a major' chal- Continued on Page A10

Uber Loses London License as Its Chief Laments `4 High Cost to a Bad Reputation'

tribunal ruled that Uber could no the &moan y met that threslipt vicks:up-the political mood bf ed UberX, which competes more ices, known as minicabs. From Page Al longer treat its drivers as self-ern- "Providing,'aninnovative!..§.0y, the times" said Tony ,Travers, a directly with the city's storied Black-cab drivers, and the un- an aggressive, unrestrained ployeci7- dontraetors and would ice is not an excuse for it being un professor at the London School of black taxis, a year later. The com- ions representing them, cheered workplace culture. Have to meet tougher labor stand - safe," Londogs mayor, Sailiq conornics.. €1.0464;-. like New pany now operates in more than Friday's ruling. Jeffrey Marcus, In an email to Uber employees ants, including . offering holiday • Khan, wrote in The Guardian soon Yoricancl Paris, is fnllgnrban pro- 40 cities and towns across Britain. who has been driving a London obtained by The New York Times, pay. and pensions. , after the ruling was annonn:ced. - gressiVes.lyhd; ,:qiien::f if they use Its arrival here, however, creat- taxi for 42 years, described it as Mr. Khosrowshahi said that he 'Tit and proper" is a bench: The 'regulatory environment; is.: ITher, feel guilty when they read ed a clash almost immediately "long overdue." thought the London decision was mark that Britain applies across critical in, protecting .Londbners'::. " things about .:it that they don't with the black cabs, which trace "We've got a brilliant taxi serv- unfair, but that "the truth is that different industries and its chari- safety maintaining workplace - like , their roots to 1634. ice here," Mr. Marcus, 67, said. there is a high cost to a bad reputa- gahle.organizationa to ensure that standards for driyers.444-su§Pir.i- On l'hursday. a Dutch appeals Black-cab drivers, who earn li- "You pay a little more for a li- tion." He added that "it's critical people or organizations meet the ing a vibrant taxi'andpriVate" hire • coda upheld' a ban of an Uber censes by memorizing some censed taxi, but you get the serv- that we act with integrity in every- requirements of their industry or market with space for a range of service in the Netherlands, saying 25,000 streets and 100,000 land- ice." thing we do, and learn how to be a specialty. providers to flourish." the company's low-cost UberPop marks for an exacting test known The reaction online to the better partner to every city we op- "Uber's approach and conduct Uber's London license Will now ride-hailing offering had been op- as The Knowledge, complain that Transport for London ruling, how- erate in." demonstrate a lack of corporate expire on Sept. 30. But it can con- erated illegally. The French au- Uber drivers are under-regulated. ever, was generally negative. A ban on operating in one of its responsibility in relation to a num- tinue to operate in the city during thorities took a similar case to the Many fear that the rivalry will put Hours after the decision was an- largest markets would certainly ber of issues which have potential the appeal process in Britain's Court of Justice of the European them out of business: Uber fares nounced, a Change.org petition hit Uber's bottom line. The com- public safety and security implica- courts. Union, and last year Uber and two are about 30 percent lower than that was started and heavily pro- pany said it had 40,000 drivers tions," Transport for London said Tom Elvidge, Uber's general executives were convicted and those of black cabs. moted by Uber within its app and and 3.5 million customers in Lon- in a statement. manager in London, sai& the fined the .equivalent of nearly The conflict also involves ten- via emails to customers had over don who used its app at least once Tests typically assess factors agency and Mr. Khan had "caved $500,000 in France in relation to sions over ethnicity and class. 200,000 signatures. every three months. like an individual or company's in to a small number of people who UberPop. Most black-cab drivers are white Ahmed Shoaib, an Uber driver, Mr. Khosrowshahi, in a Twitter honesty, transparency and com- want to restrict consumer choice." In New York, Mayor Bill de Bla- native-born Britons, while many said the service was being un- post on Friday afternoon, ac- petencejhough there is no formal Uber conducted background sio has criticized Uber's rapid ex- Uber drivers are immigrants. . fairly targeted. . knowledged that Uber was "far exam. In Uber's case, Transport checks using the methods used for pansion for 'making congestion Uber has said it receives hun- "I know there have been some from perfect" and urged city regu- for London said it had examined black-cab drivers, he said. worse on city streets. But in 2015, dreds of complaints a month from problems with drivers, but most of • lators to work out a solution with issues of how the company dealt "Our pioneering technology has his administration backed down its drivers about remarks from us are good and reliable and play the company. with serious criminal offenses, gone further to enhance safety from a fight with Uber by abruptly black-cab drivers. Among the in- by the rules," he said. "It is not fair Less than a year ago, a British how it conducted background with every trip tracked and re- dropping a plan for a cap on the sults hurled are "Uber slave!" and to punish everyone because of the checks on drivers and its justifica- corded by GPS," Mr. Elvidge said, number of Uber vehicles operat- "Go back to your country!" mistakes of one or two people?' Prashant S. Rao reported from tion for a software program called adding that the company had ‘la ing within the city. Many black-cab drivers have Mr. Shoaib switched to Uber London, and Mike Isaac from San Greyball, which "could be used to dedicated team who work closely Until now, London had been one now signed up with competing from a minicab company in Croy- Francisco. Reporting was contrib- block regulatory bodies from with the Metropolitan Police." of Uber's most notable success apps like Gett and MyTaxi, which don, in South London, after he saw uted by Stephen Castle, Dan Bilef- gaining full access to the app." He also said Greyball had not stories outside the United States. like Uber allow passengers to hail how much work friends were get- shy, Michael T. de la Merced, Arnie In May, Transport for London been used to block scrutiny by It debuted in the city in 2012, just rides via their smartphones. Lon- ting from the ride-hailing service. Tsang, Ceylon Yeginsu and Winnie extended Uber's license by four regulators or the police in London. before the Summer Olympics, ini- doners can also choose from a "London needs Uber," he said, Hu. months as it considered whether The move by regulators in Lon- tially with a luxury service. It add- wide variety of private-hire serv- "it's cheap and easy."