Uber has agree to pay $217.8 million to Australian taxi and hire car drivers, operators and licence holders to compensate them for losing income and licence values.
The class action against the international giant was one of the largest in Australia and one of the most successful of any legal action being taken against the company in the world.
“Uber has blinked, and thousands of everyday Australians joined together to stare down a global giant,” lawyer Michael Donelly said.
“This case succeeded where so many others have failed. In Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, cases were brought against governments and all of them failed,” he said.
The lawsuit was launched on behalf of more than 8000 claimants and alleged Uber Australia knowingly operated illegally and therefore had an unfair advantage over those who were complying with the law.
“They (Uber) knew full well they were required to have their drivers and their vehicles fully licensed. They chose not to do that, and they did a lot of things that gave them a commercial advantage against the taxi industry, which established their foothold,” taxi driver Rod Barton said.
Some taxi owners paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for licences, many of which were considered valueless after Uber entered the market.
My counter argument would be that taxis have been ripping customers off for decades. Let’s face it, we’ve all got a story. What about fining them?
Do you think the punishment fits the crime?
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