TFL announced today (22 September) it will not be renewing Uber’s licence with the ride-hailing app ‘not fit and proper’ to operate in London. The decision has raised questions over the future of the city’s transport options, however Taxiapp London offers a new, sustainable model run solely by a group of taxi drivers.

Sean Paul Day, Taxiapp London founding member, said: “Today’s decision proves that our laws have to be respected and that London’s private hire industry should not dominated by multinational companies. This a crucial time for tech starts-up like Taxiapp, who continue to prove more self-sufficient, having been able to survey the horizon and grow in a more sustainable way that puts both drivers and passengers at the forefront.”

Taxiapp is completely owned by London black cab drivers. It allows passengers to book and pay like they would through Uber, but rather than a fixed price that can be subject to huge surges, the fare is always decided by the meter. Unlike Uber, it is built on transparency and promotes fair economic growth and will be relaunched in October with a new feature to protect the ritual of hailing a cab.

Ed Mayo, Secretary general of Co-operatives UK, said: “TFL’s decision not to renew Uber London’s operating license suggests the current trajectory of app-based taxi services needs to change. Platform businesses are not going anywhere but they are going to evolve. We need a new wave of successful platforms with the same great user experience, but built on trust, transparency and economic fairness. It looks like TFL agrees. Ethical alternatives like driver-ledxiApp are springing up – through the co-operation of the drivers themselves. A better platform economy is already on its way.”

Taxiapp London utilises a fully licenced and officially metered service endorsed by Transport for London, which means no surge pricing for passengers. Every one of the licenced drivers has passed the world famous ‘Knowledge of London’ test, which has proven to result in shorter journey times and a more efficient service.

The app is non-for-profit owned directly by the drivers themselves developed with the aim of offering an honest, trustworthy service that puts customer and driver welfare at the forefront. By utilising tried and tested technology this small group from one of London’s oldest surviving professions are leading the way in bringing transparency to the London transport. Taxiapp is currently in the process of applying for support through the Hive, the business support programme powered by The Co-operative Bank and delivered by Co-operatives UK.

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The “idea and practice of organizing shared interests in cooperatives” (the German word genossenschaftsidee) has been added to UNESCO’s representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage after being submitted by Germany.

Originally posted by Rebecca Harvey at Co-operative News.

Co-operation is one of 16 new elements inscribed on the list following decisions by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which met in Ethiopia. The representative list includes forms of expression that testify to the “diversity of intangible heritage” and raises awareness of its importance. In 2008 the committee incorporated 90 elements (formerly proclaimed masterpieces) and since then over 200 additional elements have been added. Also incorporated this year were the Korean culture of Jeju Haenyeo (women divers), Beer culture in Belgium and the Egyptian Tahteeb stick game, among others. The full list can be found here.

The German application, jointly submitted by the German Hermann-Schulze-Delitzsch Society e.V. and the German Friedrich-Wilhelm Raiffeisen Society e.V. on behalf of their members, was sent in March 2015 for inspection by the evaluation body. The two societies dedicate themselves to the nurturing and appreciation of the life’s work of Dr Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch (1808–1883) and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1818–1888) respectively. Both men helped shape the idea of co-operation in Germany, and its practical and legal realisation.

As the German submission states:

“A co-operative is an association of volunteers that provides services of a social, cultural or economic nature to members of the community to help improve living standards, overcome shared challenges and promote positive change, […] Based on the subsidiarity principle that puts personal responsibility above state action, co-operatives allow for community building through shared interests and values creating innovative solutions to societal problems, from generating employment and assisting seniors to urban revitalisation and renewable energy projects. Anyone can participate, with members also able to acquire shares in the association and have a say in its future direction.”

In Germany, around 20 million members and about 863,000 employees of co-operatives are actively involved with the daily practice and transmission of the idea. Around a quarter of Germany’s population are members of a co-operative – which, besides farmers and craftspeople, includes 90% of its bakers and butchers and 75% of its retailers.

The application argued that inscripting the idea would show a new facet of intangible cultural heritage:

“[Co-operation] can manifest itself in a form of social self-organisation contributing to structure life in all kinds of groups, communities and even whole societies, […] Inscribing the element would demonstrate clearly the shared asset of intangible cultural heritage to be community-based.”

The inscription would potentially bring to new audiences the idea of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. It would also show the often transboundary character of intangible cultural heritage as the co-operative practice and its values like solidarity, honesty, responsibility, trust and reliability are shared by members worldwide. Co-operatives are spread worldwide, thus inscription would strengthen the co-operative idea and practice on a global scale. Co-operatives evolved from a dynamic exchange of reformers in 19^th century Europe. As the idea also has its roots in Great Britain, France and some Slavic countries, and has spread to many more countries since, inscription could enhance further co-operation with and between them.

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