LONDON (Reuters) - A judge will announce on September 28 whether Uber has been granted an operating licence in London, where it was stripped of its right to take rides by the city’s transport regulator over safety concerns. Transport for London (TfL) refused to grant the Silicon Valley-based company a new licence in 2019 due to what it called a “pattern of failures” on safety and security, the latest in a long-running battle between the pair. Uber, which was also denied a licence by TfL in 2017 before a judge restored it on a probationary basis, says it has assuaged worries by improving insurance document verification systems and rolling out real-time identification. Hearings have been taking place before Senior District Judge Tan Ikram at Westminster Magistrates’ Court from Tuesday until Thursday. Uber’s 45,000 drivers in London are still able to operate until the appeals process is exhausted, which could go on for several more months or years depending on any further legal action after the verdict.