Uber braced for regulator's crucial decision on the future of its cars on London's streets

Uber is braced for regulators to deliver a crucial decision on the licensing of its cars, which could trigger the removal of tens of thousands of drivers from London’s streets.

Transport for London is set to announce today the renewed cost of the world’s largest taxi-hailing app’s operating licence, among rumours it will not be offered one.

TfL is changing the fees for operating licences based on the size of private hire firms’ operations, in a bid to meet the rising cost of regulation.

Under the plans, the cost to keep Uber’s 40,000 drivers in the capital was expected to soar from £3,000 to £3 million over the next five years.

Its move is the latest in TfL’s long-standing battle to deal with the increase of private hire cars on London’s streets.

According to the regulator, the number of licensed private hire drivers has grown from 65,000 in 2013-14 to more than 116,000 this year.

Sources close to the decision told Sky News there are growing expectations London’s transport body would curtail or reject Uber’s licence application altogether.

The new fees on private hire frims will mean the charges on a five-year licence will range from about £2,000 for operators with 10 cars or less, up to £2.9m for those with more than 10,000 vehicles.

On the plans, Helen Chapman, TfL general manager of Taxi & Private Hire, said this week that the cost of regulation is rising due to a “huge” growth in the industry.

She said: “There has been a huge growth in the industry in recent years and it is only fair that the licence fee reflects the costs of regulation and enforcement.”