UBER LONDON

Boris Johnson has claimed the Government is failing to crack down on minicab-hailing app Uber because it is “absolutely besotted” by Californian tech giants.

The Mayor is understood to be “frustrated” that ministers, led by George Osborne, have blocked his plans for a cap on private hire vehicles.

In private meetings with the black cab industry, he has raised concerns over the close relationship between ministers and Uber’s PR chief Rachel Whetstone, who used to work for the Conservative Party.

The Standard has learned that when Mr Johnson first raised his cap proposal earlier this year he received a text from the Chancellor asking him to drop it.

City Hall aides said Mr Johnson was irked by the Government’s lack of understanding of the problems posed by Uber such as congestion, pollution and illegal parking.

The number of private hire vehicles in London is rising by more than 1,000 each month.


The Mayor told LBC radio: “The Government is still so absolutely besotted with this idea they’ve got to support Californian tech titans, even though they don’t pay a dime of tax in this country, that [ministers] are ... not yet doing enough about this.”

He has so far been unsuccessful in his attempts to get the Government to bring in primary legislation that will allow Transport for London to put a limit on the number of vehicles plying for trade.

At current rates there are expected to be more than 105,000 minicab drivers on London’s streets within two years, compared with 21,000 black cabs.

Mr Johnson conceded that Uber cars were “popular and convenient” and there were “two sides” to the argument.

Aides insisted that as a believer in the free market, he did not want to “destroy” the company. He is unlikely to bring in TfL proposals that would threaten the firm, such as a five-minute wait between ordering a minicab and a journey starting, or banning apps from showing minicabs that are available for hire — a key feature of Uber.

One City Hall insider said: “He doesn’t want to drive Uber out but he wants them and their massive PR machine to know that they can’t flout the law.”

The Treasury failed to comment. Uber was unavailable for comment.

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NORFOLK

 A bus driver who abandoned his vehicle with 30 children on board has been sacked for "gross misconduct".

The unnamed driver got lost after having to change routes because of a crash in Norfolk on Wednesday.

After leaving the children unattended, he returned to tell them to find their own way home because the bus was stuck down a narrow country lane.

Norse, the firm that runs Norfolk County Council's bus service, said his actions fell "way below standards".

Richard Mack, whose 11-year-old daughter was on the bus, said: "I don't want to think someone's lost their job over it, but it was quite a serious incident, really, to leave children in the dark in the middle of nowhere."

He said the driver told his daughter to phone her parents and "make her own way home", some seven miles away from where the bus got stuck near Reedham.

Paul Bonham, from Norse, said it was fortunate "no child got lost in the dark, fell in the ditch themselves, or got hit on a dark country lane".

The firm said that when the driver left the bus to find out his location, he failed to tell his manager the children were still onboard.

The council said: "All school transport drivers have a duty to remain with children, in the event of a problem, until appropriate alternative arrangements have been made."

Norse has sent a letter of apology to all the parents affected.

It is understood all the children made it home safely.

One person was injured in the crash, which shut the A47 near North Burlingham.

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