Uber apologises to Londoners, admits 'we got things wrong'

The new chief executive of American taxi-hailing app company Uber today apologised for "mistakes" made by the firm and vowed to fight the city's decision to not renew its licence to operate in the British capital.

Dara Khosrowshahi made the apology in an open letter addressed to Londoners today, days after Uber had been deemed not "fit and proper" to operate in London by Transport for London's (TfL) last week.

"While Uber has revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it's equally true that we've got things wrong along the way," he wrote.

"On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I apologise for the mistakes we've made."

"We won't be perfect, but we will listen to you; we will look to be long-term partners with the cities we serve; and we will run our business with humility, integrity and passion".

Khosrowshahi's letter seems to mark a decisive shift in Uber's strategy and an attempt to present a more conciliatory approach.

"We will appeal (against) the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change," the letter adds.

Earlier today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan had accused Uber of adopting an agressing stance and putting "unfair pressure" on TfL.

Khan, who is also chairman of TfL, had said: "What you can't do is have a situation where unfair pressure is brought on a quasi-judicial body, where there are officials working incredibly hard.

"I appreciate Uber has an army of PR experts, I appreciate Uber has an army of lawyers they've also made aggressive threats about taking us to court." Uber's licence to ride in London runs out on September 30 but the company can continue to operate as it appeals against TfL's decision not to renew the licence, a process that is likely to take months.

A petition calling on the London mayor to reverse the ban on Uber has now gathered more than 750,000 signatures.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)