London mayor welcomes Uber boss' humility after licence loss

London Mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the humility shown by Uber's chief executive after the city stripped the taxi app of its licence to operate, but once again criticised the company's London management on Thursday.

Transport for London (TfL) shocked Uber last month by deeming it unfit to run a taxi service and refusing to renew its licence, citing the firm's approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi met TfL Commissioner Mike Brown on Tuesday for discussions both sides described as “constructive.” Khan said he did not have talks with the Silicon Valley firm's boss.

Khan, a centre-left politician from the opposition Labour party, has repeatedly criticised Uber's leadership in Britain, previously saying that instead of hiring “an army of PR experts and an army of lawyers” it needed to address the issues raised by TfL.

But Khan, who is also chairman of TfL, contrasted that with Khosrowshahi, who apologised for the firm's mistakes in an open letter to Londoners last week.

“What gives me confidence about the TfL decision is the fact that the global chief executive officer for Uber apologised to London,” Khan told LBC Radio. “I think that bodes well in relation to the humility which hasn't been shown by Uber London or Uber UK,” he said.

Citing separate disagreements with unions in London over strike action on the underground train network, known as the tube, Khan said he always preferred to solve matters without court action.

“The global CEO has gone away to do some further work and I always think, as I said before when it came to the tube strikes, the way to resolve differences is constructively and amicably around a table rather than through litigation,” he said.

Asked on Thursday, Uber referred to its comments on Tuesday when it promised to “make things right in London.”