In recent years, London's black cab drivers - who have to pass a test called "The Knowledge" requiring them to memorise thousands of routes within the city - blocked the streets in protests against the ride-hailing service. The new service, which will be rolled out in early 2024, follows nearly a decade of tensions between the two parties, including an unsuccessful legal challenge by black cab drivers against Uber's London operating licence in 2019. Under the new arrangement black cab drivers will be offered jobs with a pre-determined price range through Uber, which they can accept or reject. Uber will not charge black cab drivers a commission for the first six months of the deal. Hameed Hameedi, the first London cab driver to sign up with Uber, said: "Nowadays more passengers than ever are using apps so Uber opening up to Black Cabs will be a huge advantage to the trade."

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Persons: Andrew Brem, Uber, Hameed Hameedi, Farouq Suleiman, William James, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Uber Technologies, Uber's London, Uber, cabbies, Thomson Locations: British, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, London