Uber Shut Down In London Over Public Safety Concerns

Uber London will be blocked from operating in the capital from the start of October, unless it wins an appeal for Transport for London to renew its operating licence.

TfL plans to withhold the American ride hailing firm’s licence, which expires on 30 September, due to concerns over the company’s operational habits.

The government body responsible for London’s transport network said it considers Uber’s approach to “reporting serious criminal offences, how medical certificates are obtained” and how security checks are obtained to have “security implications” for the public.

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TomM - 9/22/2017 8:03:40 AM

+1 Boost

The story of Uber - as well as Airbnb - whose business models depend on getting the ability to avoid the insurance and tax requirements of Taxis - and Hotels - eventually pointed to failure.

The requirement to have a commercial drivers license alone - would cost Uber - and who will seriously say that eventually the cabbies will allow their business to be taken by people who do not have to meet the same requirements. Add in the extra revenue - and the politicians will eventually require that - PLUS - I would not step into an UBER or others - that do not have PROOF of commercial insurance - not the uber secondary policy. IN an accident - the passenger is not covered for injuries by regular car insurance.

IN the usa - most car insurance policies do not cover a car when it is used commercially - most house/apartment insurance does the same. ANd many house are not in a commercial zone that allows short term rentals either.

These two industries eventually were going to win the argument - and it will reduce the effectiveness of both services greatly.

mre30 - 9/22/2017 10:23:57 AM

+2 Boost

It will be interesting to see where ride services like Uber, Lyft, and Juno and short term rental services like Airbnb will end up.

Ride serivces and short term stay services certainly have their legal issues. In NYC most condo and coop buildings have banned Airbnb-type services (through the resident-approved rules) and the biggest scandal of all is that people who live in government subsidized housing (NYC Housing authority) buildings and who live in rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units are making money on the backs of their landlords who are legally restricted from raising the rent.

I suspect that these things either revert too the regulatory norm to protect the public and/or in the case of Airbnb that people who live in subsidized housing or regulated housing will be evicted if it is proven that they are renting the place out.

I wouldn't bet on any of these entities which rely on skirting government rules from being around five years from now in their current forms. If something is too good to be true - it is.

KoruKinshi - 9/25/2017 7:13:36 PM

+1 Boost

Well then, you're equally foolish.

I have quite a few clients who run Uber/Lyft as their primary business, and they bring in well over $70,000+ a year. The 'real' costs, as you put them, aren't so great. Many of them are intelligent and run either diesel cars or hybrids as their primary workhorse. Plus, their tax liabilities are very low because mileage is a wonderful non-cash deduction.

Like anything else, if you're smart enough, you can easily play the system and make a killing.