Uber has always been the source of controversy and news in London. However, recently Uber has launched a legal action against new rules in London, which makes it mandatory for its drivers to take an English test.
Following months of demonstrations from drivers of the famous car lift company, public body Transport of London has launched a consultation last year to restrict the way private firms operate.
Notably, last January they decided against imposing a five minute wait time for rides on customers of private services such as Uber.
In recent months, the regulator has provided more details including drivers' qualification. It has been made mandatory that drivers should have reading and writing skills in English, and drivers must have insurance. Additionally, private firms should have a London call center, reported NBC News.
"This legal action is very much a last resort," said Tom Elvidge, Uber's general manager for London, in a statement.
"After a lengthy consultation process with Transport for London, the goalposts have moved at the last minute and new rules are now being introduced that will be bad for both drivers and tech companies like Uber," Elvidge continued.
Uber, whose investors include Alphabet Inc Google and Goldman Sachs, and is valued at $62.5 billion, said it backed its drivers' English speaking rules, but the proposed tests were too rigorous.
Additionally, the firm is also opposing opening a call center in London, as they opened one in Ireland earlier this year. According to TLS, the call center must be in place from October 1.
"We responded to Uber's letter and will be robustly defending the legal proceedings brought by them in relation to the changes to private hire regulations," TfL said in a statement.
"These have been introduced to enhance public safety when using private hire services and we are determined to create a vibrant taxi and private hire market with space for all providers to flourish," mentioned TfL, according to Quartz.
Meanwhile, Uber has faced issues in US cities to avoid finger print based background check for drivers, citing reasons that they are slower and costlier to complete than the present screening done by third party.
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