Uber drivers’ lawsuit asks if London congestion charge is racist

A photo illustration shows the Uber app and a black cab in London, Britain, June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Illustration

London’s Uber Technologies Inc drivers can bring a racial-discrimination lawsuit against the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan, a judge ruled April 4, as a new front opened in a long-running battle between those working for the ride-hailing firm and the city’s traditional cabbies. 

A union representing Uber drivers, as well as minicabs, won permission to challenge Khan’s decision to force those groups – but not the capital’s iconic black cabs – to pay the London congestion charge. The charge, a daily fee of £11.50 (RM61.57) to drive in the city centre on weekdays, is due to be imposed on them from April 8.