City of London revokes Uber's license to operate

Uber lost its license to operate in London following reports of fraudulent drivers and safety issues, according to Business Insider.

What are the details?

Uber lost its London license, which offered more than 3.5 million riders transportation throughout the city.

According to London's transport regulator, Transport for London, the company was not "fit and proper" to retain its license, and voiced safety concerns about the identity of Uber drivers through a "pattern of failures."

Transport for London reportedly found unauthorized drivers using accounts of registered and approved Uber drivers. Business Insider reported that fraudulent drivers carried out at least 14,000 trips throughout the city — all of which were uninsured.

Helen Chapman, the organization's licensing director, said that the company has big strides to make despite previous improvements.

"While we recognize Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured," Chapman said. "It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won't happen again in future."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan voiced his support of the transport regulator's decision.

"I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users, but their safety is the paramount concern," he said in a statement. "Regulations are there to keep Londoners safe, and fully complying with TfL's strict standards is essential if private hire operators want a license to operate in London."

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the company will appeal the decision.

In a tweet, Khosrowshahi said, "We understand we're held to a high bar, as we should be. But this TfL decision is just wrong. Over the last 2 years we have fundamentally changed how we operate in London. We have come very far — and we will keep going, for the millions of drivers and riders who rely on us."

The outlet also reports that Uber can continue working in the city while it appeals the revocation. The company has 21 days to appeal the decision.

What else?

On Monday, the Daily Mail reported that Uber shares dropped nearly 5 percent following the loss of the company's license.

The outlet reported that Uber's share price dropped from $29.56 on Friday to $28.23 on Monday morning. At its highest 2019 point, Uber shares traded for $47.08.

Neil Wilson, chief markets analyst at Markets.com, told the outlet that the latest news about the company is unsettling investors.

"It sends a worrying signal to the market about the regulatory overhang the company faces – if London goes this way there is a risk that other cities could follow," Wilson said. "London is one of five cities that combined account for about a quarter of revenues – so it's a big deal in terms of raw revenues."