Lewison LJ held that section 56(1) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 does not impose a requirement for an operator who accepts a private hire booking to enter as principal into a contractual obligation with the passenger. Lewison LJ rejected Uber’s submissions that the requirement sought was a necessary implication in the interest of passenger safety.
The judgment clarifies that although there is an implied requirement under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 for operators in London to enter into a contract there is no such requirement in the rest of the country. The judgment will have far-reaching implications for private hire operators outside London, who will be relieved to hear that they have not been operating unlawfully, as Uber would have it, for the last forty or so years.
A copy of the judgment can be found here.
Gerald Gouriet KC and Michael Feeney appeared for the Second Appellant, Veezu Holdings Limited in the Court of Appeal.