In a landmark court decision against Uber, the UK High Court has ruled that its business model is unlawful.
The decision — which reboots the application of London’s regulations around private hire vehicle contracts — has huge ramifications for how ride-hailing platforms like Uber can operate in the UK capital and how much UK tax they will pay.
The crux of the issue is the contract model Uber and many other ride-hailing platforms have been applying. (And, indeed, how London’s transport regulator, TfL, has been overseeing — or, well, failing to — their compliance with the law.)
Long-standing regulations, dating back to 1998, establish the conditions for a private hire vehicle booking to be lawful in London.
The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act predates ride-hailing apps — and companies like Uber have claimed to be complying with its stipulations despite simultaneously arguing they are not contractually bound by trips booked by its platform.
Back in February, a UK Supreme Court judgement — which demolished Uber’s claim that drivers were contractors not workers — raised key questions over its ride-hailing business model, as the justice suggested that the contractual scheme devised by Uber to claim compliance with UK regulations may be unlawful.
Uber, with the support of another ride-hailing player (FreeNow), responded by litigating to seek to have its model declared lawful by the courts.
Uber has argued that the acceptance of a booking constituted a contract between the...
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