London black cab drivers have decided to file a class action lawsuit in London's High Court against US ride-hailing service Uber, seeking damages in the amount of £250 million ($313 million). This was reported by the newspaper Financial Times.
The interests of almost 10.5 thousand metropolitan taxi drivers are represented in court by the law firm Mishcon de Reya with the financial support of Katch Investment Group. The plaintiffs allege that Uber was wrongly licensed by Transport for London (TfL) in 2012 and thereby unlawfully took business away from other drivers.
Since 2017, TfL has twice refused to renew Uber's licence, but each time the US company successfully appealed the decision in court. In 2021, the ride-hailing service was forced to classify its UK drivers as workers, giving them the right to holiday pay and pensions, after losing a high court case brought by a group of Uber drivers. This case marks a fundamental change in the business model of the American company.
As previously reported, Uber will compensate Australian taxi drivers for the loss of income associated with the company's entry into the country's transport market. The total payments will exceed $178.5 million. The decision to voluntarily pay compensation was made by Uber ahead of the start of a lawsuit against the service, brought by law firm Maurice Blackburn on behalf of 8,000 Australian taxi drivers and car rental business owners. The settlement was preceded by a five-year legal battle.
Uber is an online car transport service that allows you to use the services of personal car drivers through an application on your mobile phone. The company, headquartered in San Francisco, California, was founded by entrepreneurs Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009. Uber now operates in dozens of countries.