Ride-hailing apps such as Uber have come under various fires over the past few years. Though being a lucrative space full of tech innovation, many new firms have faced obstacles, especially with regards to regulations. This week, Transport for London, looking after biggest UK city adopting ride-haling apps, announced that they would be clamping down on such businesses.
Feeling that the current regulations are not in line with technological developments, TfL are happy to admit that the current regime is not working. As part of a new strategy, TfL wish to introduce options such as women-only ride sharing.
Helen Chapman, who heads-up regulation and charging at Transport for London, feels that times have changed since businesses such as Uber and Lyft came on the scene.
“The private hire market is unrecognisable from when current legislation was introduced. The growth of ride-sharing and other advances mean that regulation has to be fit for the next decade and not the last,”
“Our vision sets out clearly how we will manage these new developments that improve convenience for customers, while ensuring safety remains our top priority.”
In a plea to clean up the name of businesses in the space, new regulations will put pillars in place with regards to complaints and emergencies, ensuring that we move away from the hundreds of grey areas the industry currently works within the parameters of.
While many think of Uber as the villain on the private hire world, they are equally as passionate about operating in an ethical, sensible fashion as the rest of us. Talking on the upcoming changes, an Uber spokesperson said they will be exploring “a number of changes and improvements over the coming weeks”. These will mainly be surrounding limiting driving hours; another regulation TfL are expected to implement in the near future.
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