London's Uber ban leaves us all worse off

It is unregulated, arrogant, unsafe and has destroyed the livelihood of the traditional black cabs. Ever since it was launched, the ride-sharing app Uber has been as controversial as it has been popular. Now it faces a ban in London that could see the ubiquitous Toyota Priuses favoured by its drivers disappear from the capital’s streets. It won’t happen immediately, because the decision will be appealed, but it could happen very soon.

True, that will be a blow to the company, and a relief both to its ride-sharing rivals and even more to the cabbies. With three million passengers and more than 45,000 drivers, London is one of the company’s biggest markets. It has performed woefully since it was listed this year, it is under a lot of financial pressure and the shares were down another five per cent on the news before the market opened in New York. But it is also a blow to London – and potentially a bigger one.