TheChauffeur.com has received the following statement from an Uber spokesperson, as the High Court prepares to make a decision on the use of Smartphones as taximeters…
It reads; “We believe the Uber app on a partner-driver’s phone is not a taximeter, and TfL – the regulator – shares this view. We are looking forward to getting binding clarity on this issue in the high court. However, the outcome of the case would not affect Uber’s license in London, or its ability to operate here.”
The company states that whatever the outcome of the case Uber will continue to be able to operate in London – “we will simply need to make some changes to the way the app operates that may make it less user friendly (e.g. force riders to enter their destination as part of requesting a ride).”
It highlights that the High Court case is about technicalities – not Uber’s existence (very different from cases in France etc).
The spokesperson added: “Even within the confines of a law that is overly-prescriptive, we believe we have a very strong case. An app on a smartphone is not a meter – it doesn’t have the physical equipment or processes to calculate anything, it simply sends the necessary information to Uber’s servers.”
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