No review planned of Uber in Walsall
Uber will be allowed to continue to operate in Walsall despite a ruling in London not to renew the firm’s licence in the capital.
Licensing chiefs said the private hire operator has a permit to work in the town until 2023 and Walsall Council said there were no concerns raised against the company to prompt a review of the agreement.
This week, Transport for London opted not to renew the taxi app service due to repeated safety failures including a change to Uber’s systems which allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts, resulting in 14,000 fraudulent trips in London in late 2018 and early 2019.
Uber announced its intention to appeal the decision, and will continue operating in the capital until this process is complete.
As a result of this decision, Birmingham City Council confirmed it would consider the London decision when Uber’s licence is up for review in January 2020.
In Walsall, Uber was issued a five year private hire vehicle operators (PHVO) licence to Uber on November 16 last year.
A Walsall Council spokesman said: “The licensing regime in London differs to the rest of the country and, while any action taken against a PHVO is of interest, the decision made by Transport for London is not binding on Walsall Council.
“The scale of the operation of Uber in Walsall is significantly smaller than that of London and other large cities, nonetheless, the council does insist on the highest standards possible from our trade.
“The council is not aware at present of any complaint or concern raised against Uber in Walsall that would necessitate a review of its licence.
“All drivers driving for Uber in Walsall, under the provisions of their PHVO, must have a private hire driver’s licence issued by Walsall Council.
“Before issuing a licence, Walsall Council licensing service carries out a number of checks on all applicants which include criminal record checks with the DBS and checks on their DVLA driving licence.”
