London’s transportation agency has declined to renew Uber’s license to operate in London — the company’s largest European market, Associated Press reports.
This decision was announced on Friday and it shocked Uber drivers as some face unemployment.
Uber’s London license will expire on Sept. 30. But the company has been given 21 days to appeal.
Transport for London (TfL), which is responsible for the city’s subways and buses, as well as regulating its taxicabs, explained its decision by the public safety and security.
“TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,” the regulator said in a statement.
Uber has 40,000 drivers and 3.5 million customers in London.
Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, said that the agency and the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice.”
“Uber operates in more than 600 cities around the world, including more than 40 towns and cities here in the U.K. This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers,” the company said in a statement.