Uber has had its licence to operate in Sheffield suspended following an earlier ban in London.
The suspension will come into force on December 18, Sheffield City Council has confirmed, saying the decision was made on November 29.
Uber has expressed frustration over the council’s decision, saying they had attempted to resolve an administrative matter concerning its licence before the council took action over it.
An Uber spokesperson told HuffPost the company had informed the council on 5 October that it would need to change the name “on our licence as the named individual would soon be leaving the company”.
The spokesperson continued: “The council told us they couldn’t change the name on the licence, as most other councils have done, and that we would instead have to apply for a new one.”
A council spokesperson said legislation ″does not allow for the transfer of an operator’s licence”.
The ride-hailing app submitted an application for a new licence on 16 October, the spokesperson said, “which continues to be processed”.
“While we are in regular contact with the council, we did not receive the correspondence the council refers to as they sent the letters to an incorrect address. We hope this administrative error can be quickly resolved so we can continue serving tens of thousands of riders and drivers in Sheffield.”
If Uber is unable to resolve its licence before the deadline it faces not being able to operate in the city over the Christmas period.
“If the new application can’t be resolved by 18 December we will of course submit an appeal so we can continue to serve people in Sheffield,” the Uber spokesperson said.
A Sheffield City spokesperson said Uber’s licence was suspended after the “current licence holder failed to respond to requests made by our licensing team, about the management of Uber”.
A council statement continued: “It is legally allowed to operate up to 18th December, and if it chooses to appeal this suspension it can continue to operate until the appeal is heard. If it decides against an appeal the suspension will come into force.
“We received a new application, for a licence to operate taxis in Sheffield, from Uber Britannia Limited, on 18 October 2017 which we are currently processing”
The council spokesperson said “any new application” would be dealt with by the Licensing Department “who will decide if those applying for the licence meet the criteria. It will only be referred to the licensing sub-committee if a decision by the committee is required”.
In September Uber lost its operating licence in London after Transport for London concluded it was not “fit” to operate in the capital.
Transport for London (TfL) announced its decision on Friday with a strong statement, saying: “TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.”