Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi apologized to Londoners concerning the taxi app’s errors and vowed to make changes as the Silicon Valley company attempts to reverse a decision to strip it of its license in one of its significant markets.
Londonl’s transportation regulator on Friday deemed Uber unfit to operate a taxi service and decided not to restore its license to operate, which will end this week, mentioning the company’s approach to reporting major criminal offenses and background checks on drivers.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has slammed the company in the past, said on Monday he had asked Transport for London (TfL) to be available to meet Uber’s CEO.
Uber’s 40,000 drivers, one third of the city’s overall number of private hire automobiles, will continue to take guests until an appeals procedure is exhausted, which is most likely to take a number of months.
London police complained this year that the app was either not revealing, or taking too long to report, serious criminal activities consisting of sexual assaults which this put the public at risk.
“It’s … true that we’ve got things incorrect along the way. On behalf of everyone at Uber internationally, I apologize for the mistakes we’ve made,” Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter to Londoners.
“We will appeal the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, however we do so with the knowledge that we need to likewise change,” he stated.
The loss of the San Francisco-based start-up’s license in among the world’s wealthiest capitals follows a troubled few months that resulted in former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick being forced out.
Khosrowshahi did not define which mistakes Uber had made in London.
Uber’s UK head of cities, Fred Jones, stated the company was working with the police to work out how it can better report incidents.
“Once we comprehend them we can deal with them to determine what is it that they would like us to do and how can we progress and I believe that’s the crucial next step,” Jones informed BBC radio.
