LONDON: Uber called on Monday for talks with London’s transport regulator as soon as possible and pledged to make improvements in the way it reports serious incidents in a bid to retain its license. On Friday, the British capital’s transport regulator deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its license to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. London police complained earlier this year that Uber, which is backed by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, was either not disclosing, or taking too long to report, serious crimes including sexual assaults and that this put the public at risk. Asked about the criticism, Uber’s UK Head of Cities apologized about a specific incident and said the firm was working with the Metropolitan police to make improvements to its reporting process. “We’re working with the police to figure out how we can do this in a better way that’s helpful to them,” Fred Jones told BBC radio. But he also called for talks with regulator Transport for London (TfL) to discuss the loss of the firm’s license, which formally ends this week. The firm can continue to operate until the appeals process is exhausted, which is likely to take several months. Published in Daily Times, September 26th 2017.