According to a new report from The Guardian, Uber’s license has been suspended by Sheffield city council. Uber has said that this was due to an “administrative error.” Sheffield has stated that Uber will be allowed to continue operating in the city until December 18, and can continue to operate during an appeal process.
Uber said that it will appeal the suspension so it can “continue to serve people in Sheffield.” The reason why Uber’s license was suspended is because of a dispute surrounding the company failing to change the name on the license from that of the former UK boss Jo Bertram. Bertram left Uber in October. She left Uber after Transport for London (TfL) revoked Uber’s operating license in London in September.
Sheffield city council has said that the law doesn’t allow for a license to transfer to a different name. Uber on its part argues that it has not had any difficulty doing this with other local authorities. A Shieffield city council spokesperson said that “Uber’s licence was suspended last Friday (29 November) after the current licence holder failed to respond to requests, made by our licensing team, about the management of Uber.”
Uber has applied for a new license under a different individual on October 18, and the council said that it’s still being processed. Uber previously reached out to Sheffield city council on October 5 letting them know that they needed to change the name on the license because the individual would soon be leaving the company. “The council told us they couldn’t change the name on the licence, as most other councils have done, and that we would instead have to apply for a new one,” Uber said in a statement.
“While we are in regular contact with the council, we did not receive the correspondence the council refers to as they sent the letters to an incorrect address. We hope this administrative error can be quickly resolved so we can continue serving tens of thousands of riders and drivers in Sheffield.”
This is yet another blow to Uber as it struggles to properly deal with authorities. Previously, the company had its license suspended in London, and current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said that Uber is working hard with Transport for London to find the best solution and move things along.
