Uber has agreed to pay $271.8 million to Australian taxi and hire car drivers, operators and licence holders to compensate them for losing income and licence values when the rideshare giant moved into the Australian market.
This settlement, which is Australia’s fifth largest, follows a five-year legal battle.
More than 8,000 taxi and hire car owners are part of the class action suit, which was filed in 2019. The lawsuit alleges that Uber Australia and its parent companies knowingly operated illegally and therefore had an unfair advantage over taxi and hire car drivers who were complying with the law.
Lead plaintiff, Nick Andrianakis, described the settlement as a win for small businesses, taxi drivers, and operators within the taxi and hire car industry.
“I’ve lost my passion for work,” Mr Andrianakis said.
“I lost my [taxi licence] plates that were half a million dollars each. And I lost my income that provided food on the table for my family.”
Mr Andrianakis said he was previously forced out of the taxi business when Uber was introduced in Australia. He revealed he had lost more than $1 million in total.
“My family has always been into taxis, my father drove taxis… my son drove taxis while he was at uni,” he said.
“But when Uber came to our shores illegally, like pirates, they broke every law, every regulation.”
The trial continues on Monday in the Supreme Court of Victoria but is expected to be abandoned.
Source: ABC News.
