Uber has welcomed a decision by Transport for London (TFL) to reject a range of proposals that would have imposed restrictions on private hire vehicles in the capital.
The California-based private-hire app said a rejection of the “bonkers ideas”, which included compulsory five-minute wait times and a limit on how many operators a driver can be registered to, was a “victory for common sense”.
The move by TFL follows a three-month consultation aimed at “modernising” private car hire.
London mayor Boris Johnson has been pushing for greater legislation after seeing the number of private hire cars grow from 59,000 in 2009/10 to 95,000 today. He said this has contributed to more congestion, illegal parking and poorer air quality.
The mayor has now asked TFL to investigate the impact and feasibility of removing the congestion charge exemption for private hire vehicles in central London.
Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber UK, said: “We are pleased Transport for London has listened to the views of passengers and drivers, dropping the bonkers ideas proposed last year like compulsory five-minute wait times and banning showing cars in apps.”
Following the consultation, which attracted 16,000 responses, TFL will put certain proposals to the board in March, which include:
- A formal English language requirement for drivers.
- Guaranteed fare estimates for customers in advance of their journey.
- The provision of driver and vehicle details to customers, including a photo of the driver, before the start of each journey.
- Private hire operators to ensure that customers can speak to someone in the event of a problem with their journey.
- Even more robust 'hire and reward' insurance requirements.
- Improved record keeping and real-time provision of driver and vehicle information to TFL to make enforcement even easier and more effective.
Uber now has more than 25,000 drivers using its service in London, roughly matching the number of black cab drivers.
The London Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) said Uber’s “power in Whitehall” has resulted in a number of important proposals being thrown out.
"There are 93,000 private hire vehicles at the moment and that's soon to be 120,000," Steve McNamara, LTDA's general secretary, told the BBC.
"They are a major contributor to congestion, so it's good common sense that they should have their exemption from the charging zone removed.
"But what's happened [with the dropped proposals] is that Uber's power in Whitehall, Downing Street and beyond has put enormous pressure on Transport for London, and we've seen TFL's genuine desire to regulate private hire vehicles curtailed by the political pressure put upon it," he added.
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