The UK Supreme Court confirmed that Uber is legal and can continue to operate in London. The dispute in the courts was reduced to a simple question: the application of Uber account like a taxi meter
In London, only black cabs are allowed to use taxi meters, devices in vehicles to deduct fares based on distance and travel time. Friday, 16 October, the British Supreme Court ruled that the application of Uber could not be considered a meter, so can the company continue to operate in the English capital, writes The Guardian.
Uber, private transport company that uses a smartphone application to connect customers with the drivers, already works in London three years ago, but with much criticism from taxi drivers’ associations, which alleged that the company acted illegally. Now, the court upheld the US company, saying that according to the law, smartphones did not count as a taximeter.
According to the Motherboard website, the Association of British taxi drivers already announced that will appeal the decision.
The decision of the court means that Uber can continue to operate in London, but the company is likely to have to make some changes, as the government entity for the London transport, Transport for London, will discuss new regulations for transport companies.
John Bertram, CEO of Uber for the UK, Ireland and Nordic countries, said in a statement that “are excellent news for Londoners and a good sense of victory. ” “Now that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of new technologies, we expect that Transport for London think twice about bureaucratic proposals for applications such as Uber,” he added.
The Uber is facing legal problems in cities such as Berlin, Madrid, Paris and also Lisbon.
According to The Guardian, the Uber is valued at 50 billion dollars (44 billion euros).
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