Uber given two month licence extension in London

Uber was granted a two-month extension on its London licence on Tuesday, after its request for a five year licence was rebuffed by regulators in the capital.

After its permit to operate in the Greater London area expired in 2017, Transport for London refused to renew it after it found irregularities in Uber's operations.

Those included failures in reporting sexual assaults perpetrated by drivers, and failures in carringy out extensive background checks of its workers.

In 2018, Uber changed some of its practices in London, and was granted a 15 month trial licence by the local government body, which expires on 25 September.

TfL said Uber would need to comply with new conditions to secure the safety of passengers if it wanted the extension, with Uber saying it would work closely with TfL.]

"Uber London Ltd has been granted a two-month private hire operator licence to allow for scrutiny of additional information that we are requesting ahead of consideration of any potential further licensing application," said a TfL spokesperson.

Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for northern and eastern Europe, added that TfL’s recognition of the firm's "improved culture and governance" reflected the progress the Silicon Valley company had made in the capital.

"We will continue to work closely with TfL and provide any additional requested information.

"Over the past two years, we’ve launched a range of new safety features in the app, introduced better protections for drivers and our clean air plan is helping to tackle air pollution.

"We will keep listening, learning and improving to provide the best service while being a trusted partner to London."