London's Mayor has stepped into the escalating controversy surrounding the city's decision to revoke Uber's taxi licence with an offer to broker peace talks between transport officials and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

The offer of trans-Atlantic detente, according to Sadiq Khan, follows Khosrowshahi's apology in an open letter to "Londoners" that accepted the company's need for cultural and commercial change.

"I welcome the apology from Dara Khosrowshahi ... Obviously I am pleased that he has acknowledged the issues that Uber faces in London,"  Khan said. "Even though there is a legal process in place, I have asked (Transport for London) to make themselves available to meet with him."

However, Mayor Khan may well have been equally moved by both Khosrowshahi's apology and the groundswell of public support for the upstart ride-sharing app, which has led to more than 730,000 people supporting an online petition for its reinstatement.

Uber lost its ability to operate in London last Friday, when Transport for London (TfL), which both operates and regulates transport in the British capital city, said it had concerns with the ride-sharing company's approach to reporting serious criminal offences, driver certification and how checks are conducted on staff who may be sexual offenders.

"If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive millions of Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport," the petition states. "The 3.5 million Londoners who rely on Uber to get a safe, reliable and affordable ride around the best city in the world will be astounded by the decision to ban Uber from the capital."

TfL also said said that the approach and conduct of the local unit of the San Francisco-based ride-hailing business "demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relations to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications," and gave the company 21 days to appeal.

Londoners have also been reacting on social media, using the hashtag #boycottblackcabs, accusing TfL of "shocking protectionism" as the decision will clearly reduce the threat to London's traditional taxis, which it also licenses.

There are around 85,000 of London's iconic Black Cabs in the capital, according to the most recent U.K. government statistics, but they are among the most expensive in the world. 

Carspring.co.uk, which calls itself Europe's first truly online used car dealership and is registered by the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, says the average price for a 3 kilometre (1.86 mile) journey in a Black Cab is $12.35, including initial fares. That's nearly twice the price of a similar journey in New York ($7.85) and Chicago ($7.90).

Uber's London cars have a minimum fare of £14 ($18.99) but the company claims its per mile average is $4.80 - around a third less than the London Black Cab average.