The emergency summit between the bosses of Uber and Transport for London is unlikely to result in an immediate breakthrough leading to a restoration of the cab hailing app’s licence, sources said today.
Uber chief executive’s Dara Khosrowshahi meeting with London Transport Commissioner Mike Brown will start a “hopefully constructive dialogue” that will help both sides understand each other’s position, according to figures close to the company.
Mr Khosrowshahi flew into London for today’s crunch talks following TfL’s bombshell decision to strip Uber of its licence to operate in the capital at the end of September.
No details have been revealed of the timing or location of the meeting because of its extreme sensitivity.
Industry watchers said it was indication of how high the stakes are in London that the Uber boss was prepared to quit dealing with a boardroom battle in San Francisco and fly half way round the world in a bid to patch up relation with TfL.
The Uber board is today expected to vote on reforms that could limit the power of former chief executive Travis Kalanick. Mr Kalanick, who is still one of the firm’s biggest shareholders, appointed two new directors in a surprise move on Friday.
The meeting comes the day after the tech giant’s UK boss Jo Bertram quit the company after four years.
TfL regulators ruled last month that Uber was not a “fit and proper” company to hold an operating licence citing concerns about how it carries out backgrond checks on drivers and how it reports serious criminal offences.
However, its 40,000 London drivers have been allowed to continue working pending an appeal of the decision.
Mayor Sadiq Khan authorised the “peace talks” after Mr Khosrowshahi issued a public apology in a letter in the Evening Standard. The letter said that “while Uber has revolutionised the way people move around in cities around the world, its equally true that we’ve got things wrong along the way.”
Source Evening Standard
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