Uber loses London licence. Will it lose its Nigerian licence too?

Emerging report from the transportation authority in London on Monday informed the public on Uber’s loss of licence on account of operational lapses.

The cab-hailing service company has been accused of failing to comply with regulations, and has been faulted particularly for defaulting on public safety. Transport for London –TfL, the city transport regulator, has, therefore, insisted on not granting Uber a renewal of its licence to operate within London.

According to a report from the BBC, the regulator said that the taxi app, for instance, was not “fit and proper”. The app, according to TfL, allows unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts.

This means that it becomes difficult to trace cars and match them to rightful drivers in the event of an accident or crime. While drivers are no longer safe; passengers, equally, are at risk as the number of recorded fraudulent trips has increased. Between the last quarter of 2018 and early 2019, Transport for London revealed that the stats of fraudulent trips put its figures at 14, 000 for the period under review.

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Although this is not the first time Uber would be losing its licence, coming at a time, however, when the competition is stiff with Taxify (its rival) makes it dangerous for its business and global brand.

If Uber loses or fails to appeal, nothing less than 45, 000 drivers would lose their jobs in London. This will not only lead to an increase in unemployment, it would tell on the economy of London as transportation remains one key area that drives the city’s 24/7 culture.

Moreover, as Uber is currently having to deal with a market nail-off in London following this pronouncement from the government agency, there are concerns as to whether other cities across the world would not critically look into Uber’s operations to ensure if the company is not committing a similar wrong.

To stay in the transportation business and retain its corporate respect, Uber might need an aggressive disaster management team to wash it clean from this mess.

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