A class action by taxi and rental car drivers in Australia was filed in 2019 before the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria against the Uber platform.
These 8,000 taxi owners and drivers had accused Uber of violating laws requiring taxis and rental cars to be licensed.
According to them, the arrival of the VTC platform on this market in 2012 had withdrawn income from licensed taxi drivers while destroying the value of the licenses they had paid for.
After years of proceedings, Uber has just agreed to pay 178 million dollars (164 million euros) to put an end to this lawsuit.
According to taxi advocates, the American company fought tooth and nail every step of the way.
But “after years of refusing to do what is right for those we say have been wronged, Uber has relented.”
“They chose not to”
An Uber spokesperson said in an email that the company has contributed to state-level taxi compensation systems since 2018 "and with today's proposed settlement, we are putting these legacy issues firmly in our pass ".
Former lawmaker and taxi driver Rod Barton, a member of the class action, said the settlement vindicated his belief that Uber knowingly avoided the country's taxi licensing rules.
“They knew full well that they were required to have their drivers and their vehicles fully licensed,” he said, adding: “They chose not to do that, and they did a lot of things that gave them a commercial advantage over the taxi industry, which allowed them to establish themselves.”
The law was changed in 2015, allowing Uber to operate without a taxi license while state governments implemented compensation schemes for taxi drivers and license owners.