Uber Technologies Inc.’s London fate won’t be decided until mid-way through 2018 after a tribunal judge said that an appeal hearing should happen in either April or June, meaning the company can operate in its busiest European market until then.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot proposed two starting dates, April 30 or June 25, for the five-day trial at a short hearing in London Monday.

Transport for London’s surprise decision to ban Uber on safety and regulatory concerns sent a clear message to technology companies that government agencies are starting to find their teeth in balancing the interests of the so-called gig economy’s new business models against workers’ rights and more traditional operators. 

“Everyone wants to get on with it,” Arbuthnot said. There will be another pre-trial hearing starting Dec. 19 to consider applications from the GMB trade union and the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association to become involved with the case.

The rulings will have important implications for Uber’s business. London is the company’s largest market outside the U.S., and a loss of its license or change to its labor rules could hurt the company, which is losing billions of dollars a year, from becoming profitable.