I enjoyed the early years. Then the company slashed fares in an attempt to crush its rivals, forcing us all to work longer hours for less pay writes an Uber driver

Ive been an Uber driver for five years, so youd expect me to be furious that Transport for London wants to stop the company operating in the capital. Not a bit of it.

I could not be happier with TFLs ruling that Uber is not a fit and proper private car hire operator.

In the long run, drivers like me can only benefit. Yes, well have to find other work, but the best of us wont find that too hard as rival firms pick up the slack. Many of us have worked for minicab companies in the past, or still do shifts for them alongside work for Uber.

Ubers model is perfect for customers, who have the convenience of being able to use an app to order a cab while still at home or sitting in a restaurant. Journeys are so cheap that if youre travelling as a group youll sometimes save money by taking an Uber rather than a bus. What customers dont understand is that we drivers have to work extremely long hours just to cover our overheads which can lead to accidents as we become fatigued. Because we are self-employed, we dont get holiday or sick pay. Every hour that we are off the road, we are not making money.

I enjoyed Ubers early years, not least because I could work the hours I wanted. This was not possible with local minicab firms. And at first you could make a good living. But then Uber slashed prices to attract customers, and began recruiting on a massive scale to keep up with demand. Not only did we end up with more drivers working longer hours, for worse pay, but some of those drivers should never have been behind the wheel.

Just a month ago, the Metropolitan police accused Uber of failing to report sexual assaults by its drivers. As for the level of English I have gone to Ubers offices a few times and seen drivers signing up to work with translators beside them.

Ubers strategy was always to dominate the London market by undercutting competitors, such as black cabs, Addison Lee and smaller local operators. Its overheads were low, as it was not paying VAT in the UK, and did not have a call centre. Backers including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and other multibillion-dollar companies were happy for it to lose money in the short term, knowing that once it had crushed the competition it would be able to jack up its prices. After all, where else could customers turn?

That plan is now in tatters, unless Uber manages to overturn TfLs decision.

I know there will be a backlash from customers who love Uber, but if they knew the truth about it they would think otherwise. How can you, as a customer, justify those expensive drinks you had in the bar but not be willing to pay a little extra to get home in the safety of a minicab or black cab?

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/23/over-uber-london-driver-fares-rivals-work