Uber's licence to operate in the northern English city of Sheffield was suspended last Friday after it failed to respond to requests about the management of its taxi app, the local authority said.

The firm can continue to operate until Dec. 18 and if it chooses to appeal the suspension, it can still run until that appeal is heard, Sheffield City Council said in a statement on Thursday.

"If it decides against an appeal the suspension will come into force," the council said.

Uber said it submitted an application for a new licence on Oct. 16 which continues to be processed by local officials.

"While we are in regular contact with the council, we did not receive the correspondence the council refers to as they sent the letters to an incorrect address," a spokesman said

"We hope this administrative error can be quickly resolved so we can continue serving tens of thousands of riders and drivers in Sheffield."

The app will submit an appeal if the new application cannot be resolved by Dec. 18 so its drivers can continue to take passengers, the spokesman said.

Next week, Uber will head to court in London to defend its right to operate in the capital, its most important European market, after the app was deemed unfit to run a taxi service and stripped of its licence by the city's regulator. 

Source:AFP