By BBC
Uber loses operating license in London
The Uber transport application lost its license to operate in London, one of its largest markets in the world. Current permission only applies until September 30.
The license was canceled by Transport for London (TfL), the agency that regulates the transport in the English capital - the American company stated that it will appeal the decision.
It is not yet clear when the application will be available to the approximately 3.5 million customers in the British capital. The decision left the more than 40,000 drivers working for the company in London apprehensive.

What did the company do wrong?

Transport for London said that Uber is "inadequate and inadequate" to maintain its operating license in the city. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, supported the decision.
According to the agency, there was a lack of responsibility of the company with "potential implications of security and public protection". The agency has expressed concern about the lack of information on crime cases inside the cars and how the company obtains medical certificates and criminal records from its drivers.
Another reason pointed out by the agency was the use of secret software Greyball, which would be able to make it difficult to inspect authorities for the application. In March of this year, The New York Times reported that Uber was using the program, which allowed it to identify possible inspections in regions where the application was not yet allowed and to prevent agents from obtaining cars.
The company denied TfL's notes and said it had never used the Greyball tool in the UK.

Until when will Uber be available in London?

Uber has 28 days to appeal the decision. Fred Jones, a company executive in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that the company will file a lawsuit and must continue operating after September 30.

According to TfL, the application can continue to operate until all process resources are exhausted.
Nigel Mackay, a lawyer at Leigh Day, who has worked on cases on Uber's practices, said that "appeals can reach the Supreme Court."
"This can be a long process, and it's hard to predict exactly how long it will last," he said.

Can application rivals benefit?

The traditional London taxi drivers strongly opposed Uber's presence in the city, a movement that was repeated in other major cities around the world.
And Uber, who got the five-year license in 2012, has also become a major threat to small taxi and transportation companies.
The London decision has become an opportunity for the same companies to resume their customers, according to Joseph Evans, an analyst at Enders Analysis.
"If Uber can not reverse the decision, it will obviously be a great opportunity for rival companies," he said. "Taxi companies have launched very similar and competitively priced technology," he said.
These companies now offer booking, faster passenger search, better transparency on driver location and online payment.

Has Uber ever had similar problems elsewhere?

Yes. Last year, for example, the company had to leave the city of Austin, Texas, after a referendum called for a more rigorous criminal background check of the drivers working for the application.
The service only returned to the locality after making some changes in the recruitment system, which can happen in London. The application also faces problems in other major European cities, such as Paris, Brussels and Madrid.
In June 2014, taxi drivers from various parts of Europe went on strike in protest of the "lack of regulation of transport applications".
In September of that year, a court in Frankfurt, Germany, ruled that Uber did not have legal permission to operate under the laws of the country.The company then decided to withdraw its service from the cities of Frankfurt, Hamburg and Dusseldorf, arguing that regulation has damaged its business.
A new driver's legislation in Denmark in 2016 also caused the company to leave the country after three years of operation. In a statement, the company said that service regulation needed changes.
Earlier this year, Uber was also banned from Italy by a court in Rome. The court followed a request from the taxiing union, which alleged "unfair competition" by the American company. Subsequently, the decision was annulled following an appeal by the company.
In Brazil, a bill that regulates transportation applications was approved in April in the Chamber and is being processed in the Senate. The project creates a number of requirements for this type of service, including a prefecture authorization.
In São Paulo, Uber also faced resistance from taxi drivers, who carried out a series of protests against the service. Service cars came under attack.The mayor of the city, João Doria (PSDB), demanded a series of rules for these services to function, such as driving course, "social attire" and identification in vehicles.