So recently, Uber has announced that they are beginning to enforce mandatory breaks for their drivers. This is as there have recently been instances where customers have complained that the Uber driver was too tired or nearly had an accident. There was never any limit before on how many hours an Uber driver could work. However, now it will be compulsory for drivers to take a break and they will not be allowed to pick passengers up after driving for 10 hours. The minimum that the driver will need to have a break for is 6 hours.
This all comes after Uber was reprimanded by critics saying that Uber drivers were overworked and that they should be treated as employees as they work for more than 40 hours a week.
According to Andrew Byrne, Uber’s Head of Public Policy in Britain and Ireland said that
“Individuals are able to turn the app on and off at any time as well as decide when to take requests — this means that an hour logged into the Uber app is not the same as an hour of work,”.
Nevertheless, it seems that Uber has taken notice of these “noises” and has implemented this rule which is already in motion.
No other private hire operator has provided or has any limit such as this in place which bodes as a good sign for Uber for the coming months. All that remains to be seen is when, not if, the licence is provided back to Uber to operate in London.