LONDON — Dara Khosrowshahi’s 10-month tenure as Uber’s chief executive has been marked by a prolonged public relations campaign to apologize for past misdeeds and portray the once proudly combative startup as a reformed corporate citizen.
Starting Monday, a judge in London will test the success of the strategy.
Uber this week begins an appeal to reverse a decision by the British capital’s regulators to revoke its operating license. If Uber can’t make its case, it could ultimately be banned from the city of 8.8 million. Uber will argue that new policies show a newfound willingness to address government concerns.
The case has ramifications far beyond London, and, given changes the city has already wrung from Uber, it could embolden others grappling with how to regulate ride-hailing services. The ruling will offer a hint as to whether governments and regulators are becoming more receptive to Khosrowshahi’s conciliatory efforts as he seeks to move past the brusque manner associated with his predecessor, Travis Kalanick.
“The trial is one of the first big tests of Khosrowshahi’s leadership of the company and new approach,’’ said André Spicer, a professor at the University of London. “The judgment will show whether authorities are willing to accept Uber with some of the harder edges knocked off, or whether there are more fundamental questions’’ about its model.
Of all the issues that Khosrowshahi has confronted — allegations of a sexist company culture, government investigations, management turnover, a data breach — London’s potential ban is one of the most pressing. The British capital is Uber’s largest European market. A ban would be Uber’s biggest regulatory setback to date. It would bruise its business at a critical time as Khosrowshahi is scaling back operations in money-losing markets in Asia and laying the groundwork for an initial public offering of stock.
Regulators said Uber was not a “fit and proper’’ company, an important classification for businesses in Britain. They accused it of having poor safety standards, of not conducting sufficient background checks on drivers, and of using software to avoid government oversight.
Uber has tried to address many of the criticisms, and a deal of some sort is likely to be reached to keep the company’s cars on the roads. The company is also seeking only an 18-month license, a concession it says will allow regulators to ensure its reforms will last.
