Uber has License Problem in London

You may have noticed headlines yesterday that London did not renew Uber's licence to operate in the city. This is not good news, London is Uber's biggest European market. The problem, according to Transport for London, is that over 14 000 rides took place whereby Uber drivers let someone else drive the car. Basically unlicensed drivers were taking citizens on illegal trips.

Uber claim that this was because the previous management under Travis Kalanick was reckless and gung ho. Under Dara Khosrowshahi they have implemented new systems which prevent this kind of behaviour.

What many of the headlines did not point out is that Uber can still operate in London while they appeal. The share initially dropped 6% on the news but clawed its way back to only closing down 1.5%.

Uber's transition from a maverick bulldozer to a well managed, law abiding business was well timed. They managed to gather scale under Kalanick and now it is time to settle and behave like an adult under Khosrowshahi. The result Khosrowshahi eventually gets out of London after the appeal will be a defining moment for him and the company.