Uber Drivers Lose Suit Over ‘Racist’ U.K. Environmental Fee
Uber Drivers Lose Suit Over ‘Racist’ London Environmental Charge
(Bloomberg) -- A group of Uber Technologies Inc. drivers lost a London lawsuit where they said a new fee to operate in the city center amounts to race discrimination.
The drivers said London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s demand that they pay a congestion charge was unfair because it didn’t apply to the capital’s traditional black cabs. Most cab drivers are white, while about 94% of those affected by the charge are from minority backgrounds. Khan said the charge aimed to make journeys quicker and air cleaner.
Judge Clive Lewis ruled against the drivers on Wednesday, saying making them pay the levy “does not involve any discrimination” under equality laws, and is a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim” to reduce traffic and congestion.
It’s the latest stage of a long-running battle between those working for the ride-hailing firm and traditional cabbies, which has spilled from the city’s streets to its courtrooms. Uber itself wasn’t a party to the case.
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which represents the drivers, said in a statement that it plans to appeal. It “fundamentally disagrees” with the judge, “and maintains that the Mayor of London’s decision to strip mostly ethnic minority private hire drivers of the congestion charge exemption, while leaving it in place for majority white British taxi drivers, cannot be legally justified,” it said.
Transport for London said it welcomed the judge’s ruling, and the new charge would cut traffic and congestion.
A victory for the drivers would’ve forced Khan to rethink the policy, though it wouldn’t have completely ruled out charging the ride-hailing app’s operators for city center journeys.
The case is the Queen on the Application of Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v. Mayor of London, High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Case No. CO/1088/2019.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kaye Wiggins in London at kwiggins4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Peter Chapman
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