Save Uber in London petition nears 750,000 signatures
A petition established by Uber asking Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to reverse a contentious decision to force it from the city’s streets has had little effect thus far, despite garnering near 750,000 supporters, with Khan lashing out at the "aggressive" tactics of the ride-hailing app.
War of words between Uber & London mayor escalates as petition nears 750,000
Hitting back, Khan claims that Uber has besieged City Hall with an ‘army’ of PR experts and lawyers in a bid to overturn the decision, applying ‘unfair’ pressure on mayoral mandarins to U-turn on the unpopular policy.
In a statement Khan, who also chairs TfL, said: “What you can't do, is have a situation where unfair pressure is brought on a quasi-judicial body where there are officials working incredibly hard.
"I appreciate Uber has an army of PR experts, I appreciate Uber has an army of lawyers - they've also made aggressive threats about taking us to court."
Reaffirming its pledge to haul TfL before the courts Uber tweeted that it would argue its case in law: “… to defend the livelihoods of drivers and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners who use Uber".
"Drivers who use Uber in London are licensed by TfL and have been through the same enhanced DBS [Disclosure and Barring Service] background checks as black cab drivers."
We explained how drivers who use the app in London are licensed by TfL & pass the same background checks as all other private hire services.
— Uber UK (@UberUK) September 24, 2017
The palaver began on Friday when Transport for London surprised everyone by announcing that it would revoke Uber’s license to operate amidst alleged concerns over public safety and security.
Uber has admitted there has been a 'high cost' to its reputation in the wake of the London ban.