Not all drivers will like uber, but I can only say the ones I spoke to like working for uber.
Yes uber take a cut, but the drivers do better, as they dont do trips that are unpaid and also can start a new trip close to one they ending which means more time spent driving paying customers around instead of in between fares.
If uber was so bad to drivers, then they wouldnt have anyone working for them.
Also during surge pricing they make much more money per job than from with normal taxi firms.
Also chunkers I agree about the employments rights issue, but thats an issue with law rather than uber, uber have took the approach where its drivers are self employed presumably to take advantage of a law that is weak for self employed workers. If you close these loopholes in the law then companies like uber would be different in that respect. However I dont think this is the only reason, the founder of uber has not created a taxi company, he has created an app as a frontend to bring drivers and customers together, he would just bloat his company if he employed drivers directly along with all the baggage that brings.
I cannot see how that has any impact on TFL at all, why would they care how a driver is employed and paid? What has likely impacted TFL is all the lobbying thats occurred from the black cab drivers, who refuse to update their methods and pricing to deal with a competitor. I am not saying uberis not less safe, as I dont know, but I am also not claiming it is more safe, I think when black cab drivers say that they are speculating.
Black cabs overcharge, my view wont change on that, this is proven by the fact that pre paid fixed price taxi firms are much cheaper and not going bankrupt. These firms have been around way longer than uber. Uber pricing is not unreasonable when you take that into consideration as with uber costs are removed by not having a operating directing the taxis. However I speculate that uber has lost black cab drivers a lot of business, the downside with fixed price taxis is typically you need to pre book them and cannot get them easily on demand, uber changed that as I mentioned you can go on the app and get the job accepted right away, this would surprise me if it hasnt lost black cab drivers lots of work. Which I think is the real reason we have got this situation.
Uber is as a service to be fair just a app frontend that brings drivers and their passengers together.
There is other companies that take the same approach as uber with employment and have not been banned in london.
Amazon logistics.
Deliveroo
Uber eats
Deliveroo I am aware has also been in the press tho related to employees rights.
Everyone who has called for them to be banned has not really commented on the drivers losing their livelyhood and the customers affected having to start using an inferior more expensive service again, I guess that all doesnt matter?
Also to me there is an obvious question that hasnt been answered, if uber dont comply with TFL's requirements, why was there license even issued in the first place? Remember this is a refusal to "RENEW" a license not "GRANT" it for the first time.