Uber 'backs down to regain London licence': Taxi firm hints at willingness to boost safety and recognise drivers as staff as firm's boss asks mayor: 'What can we do to get this right?'

Uber is prepared to make concessions as it battles to regain its licence in London
Likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for drivers, such as holiday pay
Uber said TfL gave it no notice of the issues it wished the firm to address
Sources claimed Mr Khan had refused requests to meet anyone from company

Published: 10:22 BST, 24 September 2017 | Updated: 16:29 BST, 24 September 2017

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Uber claimed Sadiq Khan refused requests to meet anyone from the company since becoming mayor 16 months ago

Uber has pledged to clean up its act and make changes as it battles to regain its licence in London.

The company's concessions are likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for its drivers, possible limits on working hours to improve road safety and holiday pay.

The move came as more than 650,000 people signed a petition urging Transport for London to reverse its decision. A spokesman for Uber said around 20,000 of the firm's drivers had emailed Mr Khan directly to object to the decision.

TfL sensationally stripped the global taxi app of its licence to operate in London on Friday, claiming it was not 'fit and proper'.

Tom Elvidge, Uber's general manager in London, told The Sunday Times: 'We'd like to know what we can do...to sit down and work together to get this right.'

That represented a marked change of tone from Friday when he claimed he was 'astounded' by the decision. He also accused Sadiq Khan of 'caving in to a small number of people'.

The newpaper also quoted sources close to London's transport body as saying the move was encouraging and talks were a possibility.

However Uber said TfL gave it no notice of the issues it wished the firm to address and have only held one meeting this year.

Mr Elvidge said: 'While we haven't been asked to make any changes, we'd like to know what we can do.

'But that requires a dialogue we sadly haven't been able to have recently.'

Mr Khan had refused requests to meet anyone from the company since becoming mayor 16 months ago, Uber sources said.

MailOnline have contacted City Hall for a response. Transport for London (TfL) declined to comment.

Uber has said it will appeal the decision, during which time it will continue to operate as normal.

The process could see the dispute go on for up to a year.

Uber's private hire licence will not be renewed after a bombshell decision by TfL on Friday

TfL took the decision not to renew Uber's licence following concerns about the tech giant's failure to report serious crimes by drivers and the firm's vetting process.

Unions and Labour MPs have welcomed the decision.

Wes Streeting, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on taxis, described it as a 'courageous' move.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn backed the action taken by TfL, saying the body had looked at the firm and 'expressed very serious concerns'.

Ahead of his party's conference in Brighton, he said: 'TfL are there to protect all of us and I think they are doing the right thing.

'Obviously people need to be able to travel, obviously they want to be able to access cabs.

'Those cabs must be safe, must be regulated and must be available for all.'

Drivers of traditional black London cabs held a protest this year against the minicab app. The app was seen as unfairly undercutting black cabs due to the lack of regulation of drivers

However some MPs have accused Mr Khan of relenting to union pressure.

He had been given £30,000 for his mayoral campaign by the union that represents black cab drivers.

GMB, which has almost 640,000 members and campaigned for years against Uber's presence in London, has called the ban an 'historic victory'.

However, Mr Khan – who as mayor is chairman of the Transport for London board but did not take part in the licensing decision – said Uber had brought the ban on itself.

He said people angry about the decision should blame the company itself.

The London mayor said: 'I have every sympathy with Uber drivers and customers affected by this decision, but their anger really should be directed at Uber.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been blasted by MPs as he tells furious passengers to 'direct your anger at Uber'

Iqbal Wahhab, former chairman of the Department of Work and Pensions Ethnic Minority Advisory Group, said the move could breach TfL's legal duty [under the 2010 Equality Act] to make sure minority groups were not discriminated against.

'I wonder what regard TfL gave to this legal duty as part of its decision making process,' he wrote in the IBT.

'There is a huge disparity in socioeconomic conditions of BME [black minority ethnic] citizens and their white British counterparts. And for many of them, Uber was a way to earn a living, however modest, and come off benefits.'

Women's charities have also warned the move could put passenger safety at risk.

Nimco Ali, co-founder of the anti-FGM charity Daughters of Eve, said: 'The mayor talks about public safety while knife crime is at a record high and women use Uber for safety. If the mayor thinks cancelling the licence is how to make women feel safe, it shows how much he knows and cares about [violence against women] in London.'

Others suggested it could lead to young people using unlicensed taxis again.

Dame Esther, who spent years spearheading safety campaigns, said: 'In the past, when young people were desperate late at night and somebody stopped for them, many were tempted to jump in unlicensed cabs which can be very dangerous. I'm extremely worried that may happen again.'