Taxi alliance abandons legal challenge to Uber's London licence An alliance of taxi drivers has abandoned a bid to have Uber’s licence in London declared illegal, in a blow for the black cab industry’s attempts to stamp out the ride-hailing app.
Action For Cabbies, a crowdfunded drive to launch a judicial review into Transport for London (TfL) awarding a minicab licence to the American technology giant in 2012, has failed to amass the £600,000 it needed to launch the first phase of the legal challenge.
The group is now planning to scupper TfL’s plans to have a contactless credit card reader installed in every taxi, planning to use the funds it has raised to order a judicial review of the rules set to be introduced in October.
Uber, which lets smartphone owners order a car through an app connected to a credit card, has dramatically altered the landscape for London’s taxi drivers and minicab firms, undercutting the highly-regulated black cab trade.
Despite legal challenges and claims that the app flaunts the law, it has continued to thrive in the capital and, earlier this year, celebrated a victory when TfL dropped proposals to heavily regulate the service.
Action For Cabbies claimed that TfL had failed to follow the correct procedures when handing Uber a licence, but had raised just £350,000 – slightly more than half the amount needed to start proceedings.
The group is now turning its attention to a decision made in February to require all of London’s 22,500 black cabs to accept card payments. Just half of all taxis currently have card readers installed, and the rules were widely welcomed, but some drivers oppose the measures due to the fees charged on credit card transactions.
A 20p increase on taxi fares, as well as a discounted fee, is designed to soften the blow but some taxi drivers still believe they will lose out, especially on long journeys. “[It] will be deemed as a fare increase by the public, but in reality drivers will be taking a massive pay cut,” Action For Cabbies said.
Garrett Emmerson, TfL's chief operating officer for surface transport, said: “Last month the TfL Board approved proposals for all London taxis to accept card payments from October this year.
"This followed a consultation where 86 per cent of respondents supported the move. Card payments are now part of everyday life and we believe the acceptance of card and contactless payments in all cabs will remove uncertainty for customers about whether or not they have sufficient cash for their journey and will be a huge benefit for both taxi drivers and passengers.”
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2 ... n-licence/
Login
Register
FAQ
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
