TfL's plans to crackdown on Uber met with surge of support for the ride-hailing app
The announcement that London’s transport authority is considering implementing new regulations designed to crackdown on Uber has been met with fierce opposition from Londoners after a petition against the proposals gathered 90,000 signatures in a matter of hours.
Transport for London (TfL) announced yesterday that it will launch a consultation to introduce a number of new regulations governing taxis and private hire car service which would significantly harm Uber’s business model.
Boris Johnson, chair of TfL, has come under fire for the proposals which are said to reflect his concerns about traffic congestion in the capital. The measures being considered include the introduction of minimum waiting times of at least five minutes between a booking and the start of a journey, a ban on ride-sharing and forcing firms to accept bookings up to seven days in advance.
The news of the consultation was quickly followed by a petition supporting Uber and addressed to TfL, calling on the transport authority not to impede the business which “millions of Londoners have come to rely on”. Within 24 hours of the announcement that TfL was launching a consultation the petition has attracted over 100,000 signatures.
The petition has been joined by strong criticism from the director general of the Institute of Directors, Simon Walker, who summed up the proposals as “backwards” and said they would “damage London’s reputation as a city which celebrates innovation and embraces change”.
Walker called on Johnson, chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid to limit the already strict regulations governing taxis and private car hire market. He reminded them that they had portrayed themselves as “passionate advocates of the free market” and said how they dealt with the issue would be a “crucial test of those ideals”.
TfL chief operating officer for surface transport, Garrett Emmerson, defended the consultation which she said was designed to “inform and improve the regulations that govern the capital’s private hire trade.”
Uber meanwhile released a statement on its website urging supporters to sign the petition and adding that “these rules make no sense” and would “threaten drivers’ livelihoods by forcing them to drive for just one operator”.
News of the consultation has been hailed as a step in the right direction by Taxi drivers in London who have been increasingly pressuring TfL and Boris Johnson to introduce the measures contained within the consultation.