news Uber, Bolt demand equal TfL licence conditions for ride-hailing companies

Ride-hailing operators Uber and Bolt are calling for a level playing field in regulation after it emerged that rival Ola is operating under less onerous conditions – despite having lost its operator’s licence last October.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Uber has 21 conditions attached to its most recent London licence, while Bolt has 15. But Ola, which is expecting to hear later this month whether or not it has won back its licence following an appeal, has just seven conditions. Even Free Now, which has never been refused or lost its licence, has nine conditions attached to its licence, two more than Ola.

Uber lost its licence in 2019 following multiple rule breaches, but won an 18-month licence in October 2020. Bolt lost its licence under its previous company name, Taxify, following a botched attempt at starting in London several years ago, though it was finally approved in 2018.

An Uber spokesperson said the company was not complaining about its own conditions, just the fact that not everyone was having to abide by the same rules adding: “We believe that safety conditions attached to licences lead to better industry standards. Not only do they represent the way Uber already operates today, but they also reflect what we believe should be the minimum safety standards that all operators in London should meet.”

Dominick Moxon-Tritsch, head of policy at Bolt, also believes the current situation is unfair. “Ola has been operating at a lower regulatory standard than everyone else in the markets for potentially up to 18 months while the litigation over its license runs its course,” he said.

As part of its conditions, Uber has to send a monthly report to TfL setting out all investigations into safety incidents and driver suspensions/deactivations. “Other operators, as far as we know, do not,” the spokesperson said.

Uber is also required to report all safety-related complaints to TfL within 48 hours, a condition that is not required from Ola or FreeNow. Additionally, neither Ola nor FreeNow are required to have or maintain arrangements for reporting crimes to the Metropolitan Police.

Jamie Heywood, Uber regional general manager, Northern and Eastern Europe said: “At Uber we are absolutely committed to raising safety standards across the industry. We believe that ensuring a high bar which every operator must meet is critical in making this happen and offering the people who use private hire vehicles the safest possible experience.”

Uber maintains it has made fundamental changes to its operating practices in order to improve customer safety. By raising the issue now it is pressurising TfL to match the conditions on Ola’s licence – if it decides to formally restore it if Ola’s appeal is successful.

Transport for London said it was looking into the issue.