Cabbies protest at TfL and Uber
VICTORIA was brought to a standstill as London’s black cab drivers staged a protest yesterday afternoon.
The group that organised it was the breakaway United Cabbies Group. At the protest, its chairman Len Martin insisted that the demonstration was aimed at Transport for London (TfL), for what the group consider the body’s failure to ignore regulatory recommendations for the industry put forward by the Greater London Assembly (GLA).
But TfL said the recommendations have been implemented, or are in the process of being brought in.
However, it’s clear that many of the drivers involved in the protest were also angry at the growing use of mobile based company Uber.
One cabbie told City A.M.: “Most legitimate private hire companies support what the black cab trade are doing because their livelihood has been affected by the rise of Uber.”
Martin said that Uber “shouldn’t have been licensed in 2012,” and that “TfL should be held to account for it”.
Uber rejects these assertions, which include that it does not meet the licensing criteria and has uninsured drivers. A spokesman responded: “Uber and every driver using the Uber platform abides by the same regulations as everyone else. All drivers are all fully licensed by TfL and covered by commercial, documented insurance.”