Skip to main content

Uber wins right to challenge TfL’s English language requirement

Uber has won the right to challenge a Transport for London (TfL) rule which would require some of its drivers to pass an English language test. Announced by TfL last year and due to take effect from 1 October, the rule would mean that drivers who are not from English-speaking countries would have to take an English reading, writing and listening test, which TfL said was ‘in the interests of public safety’. Uber had previously supported the test, but now argues it is too rigorous and costly.
September 2, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
RSS8336 Uber has won the right to challenge a 1466 Transport for London (TfL) rule which would require some of its drivers to pass an English language test.

Announced by TfL last year and due to take effect from 1 October, the rule would mean that drivers who are not from English-speaking countries would have to take an English reading, writing and listening test, which TfL said was ‘in the interests of public safety’. Uber had previously supported the test, but now argues it is too rigorous and costly.

Following a judicial review, Uber has won the right to challenge the ruling if exemptions can be put in place, although there are other outstanding issues Uber wishes to challenge, such as TfL’s requirement for an Uber call centre in London.

Tom Elvidge, general manager of Uber London, said: "We're pleased the judge has decided this case deserves a hearing. TfL's plans threaten the livelihoods of thousands of drivers in London, while also stifling tech companies like Uber."

Uber puts electric cars on the road in London

Ride-hailing company Uber is teaming up with 838 Nissan and 5445 BYD to offer drivers the chance to rent a fully electric Nissan LEAF or BYD E6 as part of a three month study in London.

Uber has partnered with The Energy Saving Trust, a UK organisation that promotes the sustainable use of energy, in the pilot which will look at how Uber and private hire companies can begin making the switch to electric vehicles.

By October, Uber plans to have more than 50 fully electric cars on London’s roads. It also plans to bring electric vehicles to its app in at least one other UK city.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Increasing road safety with automated driver assistance systems
    January 26, 2012
    Jon Masters looks at how drivers will be trained to use the increasing number of advanced driver assistance systems being incorporated into modern cars
  • WIM system certification is a complex business
    February 21, 2018
    There are interesting moves afoot to create Germany’s first Weigh-In-Motion enforcement site in Hamburg – but Florian Weiss of Traffic Data Systems warns that WIM certification is a complex business. In the past, Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) was mainly used for statistical (WIM-S) and pre-selection (WIM-P) applications. These abbreviations - as well as WIM-E (enforcement) and WIM-T (tolling) - were created by Traffic Data Systems during Intertraffic 2006 in Amsterdam. This was also the year when we started the
  • Parking companies join forces to offer comprehensive parking services
    December 23, 2015
    Mobile parking payments specialist PayByPhone has joined forces with parking location and reservations provider ParkJockey to deliver a comprehensive set of off-street and on-street parking services to parking authorities, parking operators and consumers. PayByPhone will integrate ParkJockey’s off street parking location and reservation services into its paybyphone mobile app. In turn, ParkJockey will integrate PayByPhone mobile payment services into the ParkJockey app. The partnership will initially focus
  • Solving Detroit’s jams: just ask a Michigan student
    October 17, 2019
    At the Institute of Transportation Engineers annual meeting, a clever student plan to reduce commute times in Detroit suggests the future of the ITS industry is in good hands, write Pete Spiller and Jarrod Cady A team of students from the University of Michigan won a national student Transportation Technology Tournament - sponsored by the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) and the US Department of Transportation - with a compelling presentation on reducing congestion. In an impressive d