London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Uber just lost its license to operate in London thanks to fraudulent drivers

Uber just lost its license to operate in London thanks to fraudulent drivers

Uber has lost its license to operate in London, which with more than 3.5 million riders is one of its biggest markets globally. London's transport regulator said Uber was not "fit and proper" to hold the license. The regulator, Transport for London, said it had concerns about whether Uber drivers were who they said they were.

Uber has lost its license to operate in London, a major blow given that the UK capital with some 3.5 million users is one of the ride-hailing app's biggest markets globally.

The city's regulator, Transport for London, said it had identified a "pattern of failures" by the service that put passengers' safety at risk and was refusing to renew Uber's license, which expires Monday.

TfL said it found unauthorized drivers using the accounts of approved Uber drivers and picking up passengers using vehicles they weren't registered to drive.

The regulator said these fraudulent drivers had conducted 14,000 trips. All the trips were uninsured, and some of the unauthorized drivers had not been licensed at all by the regulator. In one instance, one fraudulent driver had had their license revoked.

TfL said it also found drivers who had been suspended from Uber's platform were still able to create an account and start driving again. It also identified cases in which drivers didn't have the right insurance in place.

The regulator added that Uber had taken steps to fix these issues but said it was "a concern that Uber's systems seem to have been comparatively easily manipulated."

"While we recognize Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured," TfL's licensing director, Helen Chapman, said in a statement.

"It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won't happen again in future."


Uber can keep working in London while it appeals

Uber's license to operate expires Monday. The company won't halt rides in London immediately but does risk having to leave the capital if it appeals the regulator's decision and loses. The ride-hailing firm has 21 days to appeal.

Uber said that the decision to revoke its license was "extraordinary and wrong" and that it would appeal.

The company said it had introduced robust checks on driver identification and would be introducing a facial-matching process.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke out against the decision on Monday.

"We understand we're held to a high bar, as we should be," he wrote on Twitter. "But this TfL decision is just wrong. Over the last 2 years we have fundamentally changed how we operate in London. We have come very far — and we will keep going, for the millions of drivers and riders who rely on us."


Mayor Sadiq Khan, who oversees London's transport regulator, said he supported the decision to revoke Uber's license.

"I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users, but their safety is the paramount concern," he said. "Regulations are there to keep Londoners safe, and fully complying with TfL's strict standards is essential if private hire operators want a license to operate in London."


Uber already lost its license once before

This isn't the first time London's regulators have cracked down on Uber, and the company is fighting numerous regulatory battles elsewhere.

The ride-hailing app lost its license to operate in London in September 2017 but won back a temporary license after fighting its case in court, changing its UK executives, and demonstrating new safety features in its app.

It appears London's regulator is keen to keep Uber on its toes -even as rival services such as Kapten and Bolt move into the city.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
×