Uber ban: Londoners call for black cab boycott after app loses licence

Transport for London accused of 'pandering' to cabbies who had lobbied against ride-hailing app

Uber has been stripped of its London licence, but plans to appeal and can continue to operate as normal (Reuters)

The controversial move to strip Uber of its licence sparked furious calls for Londoners to boycott black cabs in response.

Many black cab drivers celebrated the ruling after consistently lobbying City Hall with complaints about the taxi-hailing app.

Londoners who use the cheaper taxis provided by the tech giant took to social media with the hashtag #boycottblackcabs after Transport for London chiefs announced they would not be renewing Uber’s licence.

One said: “Great, back to the rip off black cab monopoly, I’ll miss you Uber if no one else will”.

Another lamented: “London life just got even more expensive.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has overall responsibility for TfL, backed its finding that Uber was not a “fit and proper” company to be operating on the capital’s roads following concerns about how it screens the backgrounds of its drivers.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association said: “The Mayor has made the right call not to relicense Uber.“

Uber – which has argued it is a platform provider rather than a taxi operator – immediately announced it would appeal the decision, and will be allowed to continue operating while this process goes ahead.

One user wrote on Twitter: “Boycott black cabs – it’s just a supertax on transport and free choice in London #supportuber #boycottblackcabs”.

Another user, Edward Marno, accused TfL of “pandering to the black cab lobby”, adding: “Shame on you all #boycottblackcabs.”

The Uber app is used by around 3.5 million Londoners and is usually significantly cheaper than hailing a black cab or calling a taxi company.

The contentious decision was welcomed by others, including the Labour MP Wes Streeting, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxis.

He said: “This is a courageous decision by the Mayor and Transport for London, finally drawing a line in the sand to make it clear that no company, however big and powerful, will be allowed to flout our laws and regulations or jeopardise Londoners’ safety without facing serious consequences.”