Uber breaking no rules at Gatwick, council finds

A complaint from taxi drivers that Uber has been operating from Gatwick Airport in breach of licensing laws has been rejected by the local council.

Over the past few years, drivers for Airport Cars Gatwick have reported that Uber cars registered in London were taking around half of the fares at the airport, "destroying the livelihoods" of the local drivers.

Backed by Unite the Union, drivers also claimed that the company was using its app as a "virtual rank" and was also operating out of Crawley.

Crawley Borough Council has now closed the complaint. Uber has been approached for comment.

After investigating the matter, the council took legal advice which was which was presented during a meeting of the licensing committee.

The council was told that the claim that Uber was essentially touting for business at the airport "lacks any legal substance".

In his advice, Philip Kolvin KC said he could find "no wrongdoing" in Uber drivers being sent to airport car parks to wait for their bookings, as this showed the firm was "organising its vehicles in an orderly manner rather than allowing them to proliferate in local roads".

Mr Kolvin's report added that Uber was not operating in Crawley and there was "nil chance of securing a conviction against Uber for doing so".

That finding did not sit well with the drivers, especially as one councillor had arrived at a previous committee meeting in an Uber, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Nick Venes, a licensed driver and Unite representative, said: "To turn round and say that they do not operate in Crawley. I think I must be living in cuckoo land.

"We know they operate – we see them every day."

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.