Uber is fighting back after London authorities propose new regulations

Uber has started emailing its users in London to help support the company’s fightback against a proposed set of new rules from Transport for London (TFL) regarding taxis and private hire cars.

TFL revealed on Tuesday evening that it’s planning a public consultation on various proposals that could potentially affect Uber.

Some of the proposed changes include a mandatory 5 minute wait time for all rides, a ban on showing cars on the in-app maps, updates to payment methods for ride-sharing apps and a cap on how many companies a driver can drive for.

Uber is asking its London users to sign a petition opposing the potential changes.

However, while the proposals may seem to be particularly targeting Uber, it’s important to note that none of them single out the company and will only come into effect with the backing of London residents.

The changes are open to public consultation until December 23 and anything that’s passed won’t come into effect until 2016.

Uber has used this method before – rallying local users to lobby authorities when it has come up against the authorities – but the agressive email campaign could be seen as futile as the signatures on the petition have no real bearing on the outcome.

As it stands now, none of the new rules are imminent and Uber won’t be the only company that’s hurt if they do come into action – BlaBlaCar UK and Hailo will also be affected, so it will be interesting to see what action (if any) they take as well.