A major set back for those who thought Uber would not be relicensed at the end of this month
London's Licensing authority (TfL) have pushed forward with new plans that are set to add nearly £1m to its bill.
They now plan to charge a maximum fee of £2.9m for the largest mincab firms to operate in the capital, it can be revealed, amending its original plans to increase it to £166,000.
To those who said there is no way TfL could relicense a company with so much controversy and complaint against it (sexual assaults including rapes of passengers by drivers, theft, customer account hacking, overcharging, spying on officials) we would answer, this has never been about regulation, legislation or public safety, it's always been about money.
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TfL have also quietly backed down on their proposal to charge a £68 fee per Minicab, for any firm with more than 1,000 vehicles, after a backlash from the operators.
The changes were made after the industry warned that the extra costs would put small and medium sized firms out of business. This means the larger operators such as Uber and Addison Lee will now pay more and just a few of the smallest will pay less.
The troubled startup would have been charged just over the £2m mark, based on the number of cars it has, but will now have to pay the maximum £2.9m fee for operators with more than 10,000 vehicles.
And Addison Lee is now expected to foot a bill more than twice as much as under the original "per car" plans, as operators running between 1,001 and 10,000 cars will be charged £700,000. A further 10 operators with between 500 and 1,000 cars will have to pay £350,000.
The current fee is just £2,800 for any operator with more than 1,000 cars, but TfL has said it must change in order to cover the costs of a huge rise in the number of minicabs on the road. So much for congestion and pollution,as long as you got the money.
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The changes are expected to bring in millions more as it becomes self sufficient after losing government subsidies, but it has warned that it still faces a shortfall.
It estimates more than 1,500 operators in total with fewer than 500 cars will be negatively impacted, paying between £3,174 and £157,000 in additional costs over five years. 400 with less than 10 cars will pay £826 less.
The details of the changes were quietly revealed among documents published with TfL's latest finance committee meeting last week and also include the date they are likely to be implemented - 1 April 2018.
Uber and Addison Lee have had their operating licences renewed in the short-term while TfL makes the changes, for four and six months respectively. But both will face a second temporary renewal before the changes comes into force.
Uber's is due to be renewed at the end of September and Transport for London faces mounting pressure over the matter. But where money is concerned, pressure calling for public safety is like water off a ducks back to TfL. Its alleged they will be looking to give Uber an 8 month extension, by then the new charges will be firmly in place.
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