Transport for London has begun action to secure a High Court ruling on whether the use of mobile technology to calculate minicab fares breaks the law.
The Google-backed Uber car service uses smartphone apps and GPS technology to calculate the fares passengers must pay.
London’s black cab trade says the use of such technologies breaches laws forbidding minicabs from fitting taximeters in their vehicles.
TfL, which regulates both Taxis and minicabs, last week said it believed the apps were legal but announced it would ask the High Court to make a final ruling because some aspects of the law are “unclear”.
It has now sent formal ‘letters before action’ to Uber, the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association and the Licensed Private Hire Car Association, advising that they may be called to take part in the case.
Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “The process for securing a High Court ruling on the issue of taximeters is now underway. We hope that London’s taxi drivers and private hire drivers and operators recognise that this is the sensible approach and will work with us.”
