Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber chief executive, has apologised for the recent license loss of the taxi-hailing firm in London.
Khosrowshahi made the apology in an open letter he addressed to Londoners, and which was posted by Alex Belardinelli, Uber head of communications, via his Twitter page.
The Uber CEO, who took over at the firm less than a month ago, wrote: “We want to thank everyone who uses Uber for your support over the last few days.
“It’s been amazing to hear your stories of Uber improving lives across this city- from drivers who use our app to earn a living, to riders who rely on us to get home safely and after a night out.
“While Uber has revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it’s equally true that we’ve got things wrong along the way.
“On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I apologise for the mistakes we’ve made.
“We will appeal this decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change. As Uber’s new CEO, it is my job to help Uber write its next chapter.
“We won’t be perfect, but we will listen to you; we will look to be long-term partners with the cities we serve, and we will run our business with humility and passion.
“Here in London, we’ve already started doing more to contribute to the city. Wheelchair accessible vehicles are on the road and our clean Air Plan will help tackle pollution.
“You have my commitment that we will work with Londoners to make things right and keep this great global city moving safely.”
Open letter to Londoners in today’s Evening Standard from Uber’s new CEO @dkhos: pic.twitter.com/LOuLgPvF4B
Advertisement— Alex Belardinelli (@abelardinelli) September 25, 2017
Transport for London (TfL) had refused issuing a new operating licence to Uber citing public safety and security concerns as issues.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, had said the decision not to renew Uber’s licence was to guarantee the safety of Londoners.
In response to the apology by Uber, Khan, who is also chairman of TfL, defended the organisation on Monday saying: “What you can’t do is have a situation where unfair pressure is brought on a quasi-judicial body, where there are officials working incredibly hard.
“I appreciate Uber has an army of PR experts, I appreciate Uber has an army of lawyers – they’ve also made aggressive threats about taking us to court.”
With over 40,000 estimated drivers working in London, Uber’s current licence expires on September 30 with less than 21 days to appeal the decision to withhold renewal of its licence.
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