Tears for Uber? More like Fears
I write to you from London.
I am writing this while sitting in an Uber.
It may be the last for some time in this city.
You see Uber has been stripped of its London licence. The local authorities found that over 14,000 Uber trips had been taken with drivers who had faked their identity on the firm’s app.
That’s right you, me, your wife and children were being driven around by men – and its mostly men – claiming to be someone other than who they were.
I’ve stopped writing for a minute. Suddenly I find myself checking the driver of my Uber. He does not make eye contact. He has barely spoken. He was sullen when I got in but seems to be becoming more so.
Never mind, he must have heard the news too. So Transport for London made the announcement. The two-month probationary extension granted to Uber in September has ended – and not well for the 45,000 who make money as full-time or part-time Uber drivers. Back in September Uber was told in no uncertain terms that it had needed to address issues with better, more thorough checks on drivers, insurance and safety. Questions to drivers like: who are you?
Two months on Uber had failed miserably to satisfy the capital’s transport authorities.
And Transport for London went for it. They threw the book at Uber saying it had identified a “pattern of failures”, including, and worryingly, several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk.
Here is a direct quote from Transport for London: “Despite addressing some of these issues, Transport for London does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.”
It sounds like a court verdict, and a criminal court at that.
Uber said they would appeal the decision. So the Uber cars have not disappeared from London, not just yet, thus my current ride. But it is not a good place to be starting from, namely, being found guilty in the court of public opinion.
Suddenly, some erratic driving, and some choice language and hand gestures from my driver break my writing. He really is in a bad mood.
Now Transport for London did admit that Uber had tired to improve things but there were still “reservations” about their operating model. An understatement, given that Uber systems allowed unauthorized drivers to upload their photos to other drivers’ accounts. Yes, you read that right. It’s called “fake I.D.” elsewhere. This security lapse alone resulted in at least 14,000 trips – involving 43 drivers – where someone other than the booked driver picked up passengers.
Maybe you were one of those 14,000. Picked up late at night, in a car in the middle of nowhere with a driver that no one knew who he was – least of all you.
Makes me wonder who really is driving me home tonight. All I know is that it is someone angry that’s for sure.
These incidents of “ghost drivers” mostly occurred from late 2018 until early 2019. More worryingly still Transport for London admitted it had only recently become aware of the extent of the problem – and that the latest occurrence of these unknown drivers was reported less than three weeks before the Uber licence was pulled.
Let’s take a closer look at those 43 “ghost drivers” – who were they? Why did they need to conceal their identities? Was that the whole idea? To be anonymous so as to get access to whatever or whoever they craved? We’re not really sure but we know some had licences, some didn’t, and then there were those whose licences had been revoked. It was discovered that one Uber driver had been cautioned by police for distributing indecent images of children. Just think about that next time Uber are collecting your kids from school.
To be fair Uber said it has implemented technical fixes to resolve these problems. The firm also plans to bring in facial recognition technology. Seriously? You think they would have thought of that before now?
On hearing the decision, Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager, said: “TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal. On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation.”
Of course, they will. They need to: London is Uber’s biggest European market. As the news broke Uber shares fell almost 6% in pre-market trading in New York.
The Uber chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, complained that the decision was “just wrong.” He tweeted: “We understand we’re held to a high bar, as we should be. But this TfL (Transport for London) decision is just wrong. Over the last two years we have fundamentally changed how we operate in London.”
Sounds to me like they just don’t get it. It is no longer about a licence but about a brand. Before Uber was cheap and readily available as a means of travel. Now it looks not only tarnished but also dangerous, sinister even.
Bad news for Uber was great news for London’s iconic black-cabs. Steve McNamara, the general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents London black-cab drivers, said: “It’s all about public safety and the mayor has taken the right decision. As far as we’re concerned Uber’s business model is essentially unregulatable. It is based on everyone doing what they want and flooding London with vehicles. Uber cannot guarantee that the cars are properly insured, or that the person driving the car is the one that is supposed to be driving, as recent incidents show.”
He may be smiling from ear to ear as he says this seeing a chief competitor go down the pan but, still, he has a point.
My Uber was coming to the turning for my street. Unexpectedly the driver drove straight past it. I leaned forward to speak to him. But he braked to what was almost a stop, turned round, and then angry driver and his passenger, not six inches between us, remained for what seemed an eternity eye to eye. The Uber then sped off again, and despite my protestations accelerating without mercy, making off into the dark hinterland of deserted unknown streets.
“Is this your address?” a voice asked. I looked up dreamily. And recognised I was home. My Uber driver was trying to wake me.
I thanked him and left the car, although watching out of the corner of my eye as it went off again into the night.
As I pushed open the door to my townhouse, I realised I had never been more relieved to be home.
