As you may know, Uber, the giant, soulless corporation has been threatening to come to Braintree for some time. 

Braintree has many small, family ran taxi businesses. These businesses put food on families tables. Many taxi businesses and their taxi drivers rely on income from the local community to survive, eat and heat their homes. 

And Uber wants to become locally licensed in Braintree, for what cause?

Just so a giant corporation, who's balance sheet will not be affected by our small town at all, can continue to destroy small businesses and the livelihood's of sole proprietors, and threaten public safety? 

Here's the full scope of the issue: 

Unfortunately, the council must act fairly with all licence-applicants, and cannot refuse a licence due to the economic reasons I outlined above, therefore, I put forward to you today the significant threat to public safety that Uber imposes:

 1. Public Safety & Use of Unauthorised Drivers In 2019, Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew Uber’s licence after discovering that over 14,000 trips were conducted by unauthorised drivers, some of whom were not properly insured. This presents a significant risk to public safety.

2. Failure to Report Serious Incidents Uber has repeatedly failed to report serious passenger safety incidents, including sexual assaults, in a timely and transparent manner—raising doubts about its commitment to safeguarding the public.

3. Poor Complaint Handling & Transparency Uber's decentralised model limits local accountability and has consistently drawn criticism for inadequate complaint resolution processes—particularly in cases involving vulnerable passengers.

4. Past Data Protection Breaches In 2016, Uber concealed a data breach affecting millions of users in the UK, only reporting it a year later. This raises concerns about how customer and driver data will be managed in Braintree.

5. Pattern of Non-Compliance with Licensing Authorities Uber has had operator licences suspended, refused, or challenged in London, York, Reading, and Leicester, showing a repeated pattern of non-compliance with local and national regulation. This pattern must be taken into account when assessing their application here.

We urge you to sign this petition, so we can put this forth to Braintree Council, encourage them to protect our town and local tradesmen. 

Other councils have protected their communities against Uber before, namely:

1. City of York Council
In December 2017, York’s Licensing Committee refused to renew Uber’s licence due to a major data breach affecting around 57 million users (2016) and numerous driver complaints and transparency issues 
Uber later withdrew its appeal in March 2018 rather than contest the decision.

2. Reading Borough Council
Uber’s licence application was refused in 2016, principally because Uber refused to commit to a staffed office in Reading, which the council required for customer service and enforcement visits Cornerstone.

3. North Tyneside Council
In 2017, Uber’s application was effectively abandoned—council records show that North Tyneside sought detailed operational information that Uber did not satisfactorily provide, leading either to refusal or withdrawal 

4. Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
Uber either had its licence refused or voluntarily withdrawn after failing the “fit and proper” test and other licensing checks, with the council formally noting concerns over cross-authority bookings and safety oversight

5. Oxford, Hull, Bournemouth, Gateshead, Sandwell, and South Tyneside:
Uber withdrew licence applications after councils raised questions about its operating model and transparency. This included Oxford, Hull, Bournemouth, Gateshead, North and South Tyneside, and Sandwell. 

Please sign this petition today to protect our community, our small businesses and our sole traders in Braintree.