Uber drivers say London Mayor’s new levy is discriminatory

LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to charge Uber Technologies drivers to operate in the city center amounts to racial discrimination and puts some out of business, lawyers for the drivers said Wednesday in court, in the latest stage of a long-running battle between those working for the ride-hailing firm and traditional cabbies.

A union representing Uber drivers is suing the city’s mayor, saying it isn’t fair that they must pay a daily charge of 11.50 pounds ($14.34) when traditional blackcab drivers don't have to. While 94% of Uber drivers come from minority backgrounds, 88% of black-cab drivers are white, the union said, meaning the levy “impacts disproportionately” on minorities.

Uber drivers tend to be “individuals working long hours in order to make ends meet and provide for their families in difficult circumstances,” union lawyer Ben Collins said in court Wednesday.


Mayor Sadiq Khan said in court filings that the levy is an “important means of reducing road congestion and traffic” in central London.