Taxi hailing company Uber has been denied the licence to operate in London in a decision handed down by the city's transport authorities.
Authorities based the shock decision on what they said were serious security breaches that put customers at risk according to the Independent.
Transport for London (TfL) had expressed serious concerns about passenger safety and security, and the crime-reporting protocols of Uber.
While acknowledging the improvements that had been made, TfL maintained that there was still a long way to go.
“Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time," a statement by Transport for London read in part according to The Guardian.
Jamie Heywood, the boss of the ride-hailing service faulted TfL's decision, saying that Uber would appeal.
“TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal. We have fundamentally changed our business over the last two years and are setting the standard on safety. On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation," Jamie Heywood said.
Uber has long faced accusations of employing technology to evade the law and obtaining drivers' medical certificates in questionable ways.
The company has denied violating laws, saying that it has improved its app to the required standards.