Uber gets go-ahead as York licence granted

[The Dark Knight]

Uber gets go-ahead as York licence granted




Existing taxi drivers in York have spoken out against Uber's presence in the city

Uber has been granted a licence to operate private hire cars in York once again after a six-year ban.

City of York Council's licensing committee voted to approve the online ride-hailing firm's application on Tuesday.

The York City Taxi Association held a protest against the application outside the council's offices ahead of the four-hour meeting.

The company's licence includes conditions banning its drivers from parking in hackney carriage spaces.

The meeting heard one of the main complaints from taxi drivers in York was Uber drivers parking in, and picking up customers from, hackney carriage bays.

Despite not having a licence in the city since 2017, Uber drivers from other areas have been allowed to operate legally in York using licences granted elsewhere.

Some councillors expressed their concerns about a data breach at the company which had previously led to its licence being revoked.

There was a significant data breach at the company in 2016 which affected 57 million users, but they failed to report this to the authorities.

Councillor Jason Rose told the meeting: "We have no idea if they are better or worse than that now because they have chosen not to tell us for seven years about anything they legally didn't have to."

A representative for Uber said they believed they had "met the fit and proper test definition" with their application.

One taxi driver currently working in the city said drivers were already "struggling" and urged members of the licensing committee to "please help your local drivers to get enough to feed our families".

The Uber representative said they wanted to provide opportunities for "local York drivers" when asked if it would be them or cabbies from further afield who might benefit from a licence being granted.








www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c888j52zg8ko

[The Dark Knight]

Uber licence 'bad' for city disabled - campaigner


A disability rights campaigner has said she is disappointed with a decision to grant Uber a licence to operate private hire cars in York again after a six-year ban.

City of York Council's licensing committee voted last week to approve a new application by the online ride-hailing firm to operate there.

But campaigner Flick Williams said Uber had been "quite clear that if they were granted a licence there would be no option to book a wheelchair accessible taxi".

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: "Ensuring the Uber platform is accessible for all riders is a key priority for us."

When Uber's licence was refused in 2017, City of York Council gave two main reasons.

The first was that there was a significant data breach in 2016 which affected 57 million users, and the company had failed to report this to the authorities.

There had also been a rise in complaints about Uber drivers in York, which the council said indicated that there were "management issues".

Despite not having a licence in York since the ban, Uber drivers from other areas have been allowed to operate legally in the city using licences granted elsewhere.

Ms Williams said granting a new licence to Uber "leads directly to a reduction in the number of wheelchair accessible taxis available".

"The council should have refused it. Uber had their licence removed in 2017 and have continued to operate, so granting them a licence now is, in effect, rewarding bad behaviour," she added.

The campaigner described the new licence as "a deeply bad decision for all disabled and older people in the city".

"That's particularly because Uber were quite clear that if they were granted a licence there would be no option to book a wheelchair accessible taxi," she said.

Members of York City Taxi Association held a protest against the application outside the council’s offices ahead of the four-hour meeting last Tuesday.

Arshad Mahmood, the association's chairman, said they were "disappointed" at Uber being given a new licence to run vehicles in the city.

“This decision has definitely overlooked the 44 wheelchair Hackney taxis and wheelchair taxi users. We are already low in numbers of the wheelchair taxis,"











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