Uber could operate in London for another year during appeal process

Uber could stay on London’s roads for more than a year after the ride-hailing firm was stripped of its licence.

An appeal against a ban imposed by Transport for London could be strung out over at least 12 months, according to The Times.

TfL’s ruling that Uber was “not fit and proper” to hold a private hire licence has dismayed many of the 3.5 million Londoners who have come to rely on cheaper rides.

It has also raised questions about the future of 40,000 Uber drivers working in London.

A petition protesting against Friday’s shock ruling has gained more than 780,000 signatures so far.

On Monday, transport bosses said they were prepared to meet with the firm’s global chief Dara Khosrowshahi after he apologised for “mistakes we’ve made” and accepted that the company must make changes.

London mayor Sadiq Khan had urged TfL officials to “make themselves available” to meet the ride-hailing app’s boss.

Fred Jones, UK head of cities for Uber, said on Tuesday that it was "just not clear for us what [TfL's] concerns might be".

Uber has said it given no previous warnings about breaches of its licence and that it was only informed of the decision five minutes before it was announced on Friday.

Mr Khosrowshahi confirmed Uber would challenge TfL’s controversial in court but said he wanted to “make things right at the same time”.

TfL cited safety concerns over the company’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and Uber’s approach to obtaining medical certificates and running background checks as two of the reasons for revoking the firm’s licence.

But pressure has been growing on TfL to fully explain its decision to ban Uber when its licence expires at the end of this week.

TfL ordered 13,000 minicab drivers, including many working for Uber, to undergo a second enhanced criminal record check this month after the transport body carried out a review and ruled previous checks by a third party were invalid.

Critics pointed out that responsibility for carrying out such checks ultimately lies with TfL and not with minicab operators, prompting more claims it has used politically motivated reasons to revoke Uber’s licence to operate in the capital.

TfL has said it would not comment on specifics of background checks while it considers Uber’s appeal.