Group rattles tin in bid to snatch TfL licence from Uber's paw

A group has launched a campaign to raise funds for a judicial review of TfL's decision to grant Uber a licence in 2012.

Action for Cabbies was set up by Artemis Mercer, the wife of a London black cab driver, on the grounds that TfL went beyond its remit by granting the licence.

She said the group had sought legal advice and now needs to raise £600,000 over the next eight weeks to instruct a solicitor and appoint a barrister.

She said: “When Transport for London granted Uber a licence in 2012, it became a law maker instead of the law enforcer it should be – it has since failed to regulate the industry appropriately and the lives of passengers and the livelihood of everyone in the industry are now at risk.

She added: "We have launched this fundraising to help save our iconic black cab industry and to protect passengers from a woefully inadequate third tier system Transport for London created and that has blurred the line for all taxi regulation.”

However, TfL recently had its proposals to impose greater regulation on Uber rejected by the UK's competition watchdog.

Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith recently warned that London's iconic black cabs could disappear from the capital's streets in a few years due to an unfair playing field created by Uber.

He noted the number of minicab drivers in London had increased by 46 per cent to 86,500 compared with five years ago and is increasing by 1,000 every month as a consequence of Uber joining the market. ®