The capital’s transport authority, Transport for London (TFL), has banned the Indian taxi app Ola due to public safety concerns.

The cab company has been working in London since February.

The TFL reported that the firm reported several failures, including more than 1,000 trips made by unlicensed drivers.

Ola said he would appeal the decision and had 21 days to do so. According to the rules of appeal, it can continue.

Transportation authorities said Ola did not report the failure as soon as they learned of it.

“Through our investigation, we discovered that flaws in the Olar operating model used unlicensed drivers and vehicles in more than a thousand passenger journeys, putting the safety of passengers at risk,” said Helen Chapman, director of licensing, control and charge at TFL.

“If they apply, Ola can continue and drivers can continue to take bookings on behalf of Ola. We will closely investigate the agency to ensure that there is no compromise with the safety of passengers.”

Uber wins

The ride-healing company began operations in Cardiff in 2018 and has since spread to other parts of the UK.

“We have worked with TFL during the review and have tried to provide reassurances and resolve issues raised in a public and transparent manner,” Mark Rosendall, Managing Director of Olar UK, said in a statement.

“Ola will take the opportunity to appeal against this decision and in doing so will allow our drivers and crew to rest assured that we will continue to operate as normal while providing safe and reliable mobility in London.”

Last week, a judge upheld an appeal against TFL after Chief Justice Uber reserved the right to continue working in London.

The ride-hailing giant has been given a new license to operate in the capital almost a year after TFL’s application was rejected due to safety concerns caused by unlicensed drivers.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that 24 Uber drivers shared their accounts with 20 others, resulting in 14,788 unauthorized journeys.