> There's no good reason for Uber to lose a big market over that. Complying would not have disrupted their operations one bit.
This is the thing, Uber assumes that london is just like NYC, where its a highly regulated market with a massive barrier to entry. Its simply not the case.
A minicam license to operate costs ~£500 (https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing...) There is a rich and thriving minicab market. Uber are really quite late to the party, Addison Lee having an internet based hailing serivce in 2007, and an app since at least 2010. The only thing new they bring is "cachet"
This is the thing, Uber assumes that london is just like NYC, where its a highly regulated market with a massive barrier to entry. Its simply not the case.
A minicam license to operate costs ~£500 (https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing...) There is a rich and thriving minicab market. Uber are really quite late to the party, Addison Lee having an internet based hailing serivce in 2007, and an app since at least 2010. The only thing new they bring is "cachet"