TRANSPORT FOR LONDON BOOTS OUT UBER

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2017 :: RMTnews 8 RMT welcomed Transport for London's ruling last month that Taxi app firm Uber will not be issued with a private hire operator licence renewal. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that Uber had consistently failed to reach acceptable standards of service, safety and security. “We applaud this decision which is a victory for passengers and also a vital step in protecting the livelihoods of the skilled and experienced London taxi drivers who are being unfairly undercut by Uber. “This is a success for our campaigning and all those who work in the trade and must be a stepping stone to end the deregulation in the industry which has created such chaotic, unsafe and exploitative conditions. “The next steps should include the introduction of a statutory definition of plying for hire and also for MPs to get behind the Private Members Bill put forward by Daniel Zeichner MP to reform the taxi and private hire industry,” he said. For many years London taxi drivers have been regulated to protect often vulnerable passengers and drivers have had to prove that they are fit and proper to do so. Minicab drivers have been able to transport people provided those journeys are pre- booked. However, this important distinction has recently been undermined by Uber. Uber is a US software company, operating in the UK via a network of companies routed through low tax jurisdictions. It matches people who want services, with those providing them. It set up in many cities, offering services that were frequently prohibited or were provided in a way that is incompatible with existing rules. Uber’s approach was to disregard or fudge existing regulations in order to become established and deal with compliance later. In London, there was sufficient legal ambiguity to enable regulators to drag their feet about blocking Uber. Transport for London decided that while rules limiting who could pick up passengers – known as “plying for hire” and “ranking for hire” – are well- established, they may not extend to transactions carried out online. Specifically, TfL stated that it was unclear whether a minicab advertising its availability and location to passengers on an electronic platform amounts to “plying for hire”. Once established, Uber ratcheted up the commission which it charged drivers, who have been found by the employment tribunal to be bogusly self-employed, thereby cutting their earnings to below minimum wage level. Despite growing evidence that low pay had forced drivers to work excessive hours the company became politically too big to fail. RMT has been leading the fight back against the company, lobbying politicians, holding protests, organising a letter writing campaign, feeding into consultative committees and threatening legal action. In the face of a vast expansion in the minicab fleet, leading to road congestion which has sent average traffic speeds in central London to eight mph and faced with evidence of sex attacks on passengers, the authorities ran out of excuses not to act. The union put pressure on TfL, the Mayor and the Metropolitan Police by threating legal action. RMT attacked the ongoing illegality of Uber’s operational practices since its original license grant in 2012 and their continued flaunting of the law on “plying for hire”. As a result TfL and the London Mayor updated the law to explicitly extend existing rules to online platforms and now TfL has declined to renew Uber’s license on the grounds of TRANSPORT FOR LONDON BOOTS OUT UBER Union plays key role in the decision by threating legal action