Uber sorry over London mistakes

London : The chief executive of Uber apologised yesterday for “mistakes” made by the US ride-sharing app after London authorities refused to renew its licence, but still vowed to appeal the decision.

“While Uber had revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it’s equally true that we’ve got things wrong along the way,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter.

“On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I’d like to apologise for the mistakes we’ve made.”

But he insisted: “We will appeal this decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change.”

Transport for London (TfL) on Friday said it would not renew Uber’s licence to operate in the capital on expiry, owing to public safety concerns.

Uber, which has about 40,000 drivers and some 3.5 million customers in the British capital, has 21 days to lodge its appeal and can continue to operate until that process has concluded.

Khosrowshahi added in the letter: “We won’t be perfect, but we will listen to you; we will look to be long-term partners with the cities we serve; and we will run our business with humility, integrity and passion.” Uber has seen its global popularity explode since it launched in 2009 in San Francisco, but also faces bans in other hubs including Cape Town, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

TfL has slammed the company for its approach to customer safety, claiming it was “not fit and proper” to operate in London -- and gave “public safety and security implications” as reasons for its decision.

The transport body cited Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, how drivers’ medical certificates are obtained, how criminal record checks are carried out, and its use of technology which allegedly helps it to evade law enforcement.