London Mayor Sadiq Khan could be in breach of equality rules over Uber ban
London Mayor Sadiq Khan could be in breach of equality
rules as Uber vows to take court action over ban
Uber vows to take court action against Transport for
London's ban
By Nicola Harley 23 SEPTEMBER 2017 • 9:24PM
Sadiq Khan could be in breach of equality legislation
over the decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London, a former adviser has
warned.
The Mayor of London was told on Saturday that because
more than 90 per cent of the 40,000 drivers are from
ethnic minority backgrounds, the move has
destroyed a “lifeline” for them.
The taxi app has announced it will take court action
against Transport for London’s (TfL) ban, which is due to come into force next
Saturday.
TfL claimed the service was “not fit and proper” to hold
a licence amid allegations of sex crimes by its drivers, but women’s charities
fear passenger safety will be put at risk.
On Saturday a petition to reinstate Uber had more than
590,000 signatures.
Iqbal Wahhab, former chairman of the Department of Work
and Pensions Ethnic Minority Advisory Group, said the move could breach TfL’s
legal duty to ensure minority groups were not discriminated against.
“I wonder what regard TfL gave to this legal duty as part
of its decision making process,” he wrote in the IBT.
“There is a huge disparity in socioeconomic conditions of
BME [black minority ethnic] citizens and their white British counterparts. And
for many of them, Uber was a way to earn a living, however modest, and come off
benefits.
"If they are able to win their appeal, Uber will
have to rigorously clean up its conduct and be fit to serve London better. But
by having put fear of economic uncertainty into 40,000 households, City Hall
could more rigorously interrogate all its responsibilities.”
The move by TfL followed a letter from Scotland Yard in
April, which raised concerns that Uber was failing to report crime, including
sexual assault.
The latest figures indicate that sex attacks involving
Uber drivers could now be running at almost one a week, with allegations having
increased by 50 per cent in a year to 48 alleged offences.
In 2015, 126 London taxi drivers were charged with
violent or sexual offences.
Nimco Ali, co-founder of the anti-FGM charity Daughters
of Eve, said: “The mayor talks about public safety while knife crime is at a
record high and women use Uber for safety. If the mayor thinks cancelling the
licence is how to make women feel safe, it shows how much he knows and cares
about [violence against women] in London.”
Uber says TfL gave it no notice of the conditions it
wished the company to address and have only held one meeting once this year.
“We plan to file an appeal,” an Uber spokesman told the Telegraph.
“We stand ready and willing to talk to TfL and put things right for Londoners.
Not once has TfL told us what requirements they wish us to make.”
Uber has 21 days to appeal, and if it does, the app will
operate as normal until the appeal is completed. The process could see the
dispute go on for up to a year.
On Saturday Mr Khan said customers’ and drivers’ anger
“should be directed at Uber” but conceded that it would “take time before this
situation fully plays out”.
Comments
Post a Comment