(Sydney) Uber has been ordered to pay 271.8 million Australian dollars (241 million CAD) in compensation to Australian taxis for lost revenue, their lawyers announced Monday after a five-year legal battle.
More than 8,000 taxi drivers and rental car owners had filed a class action against the platform, deploring significant losses of income since its arrival on the Australian market in 2012.
This class action resulted in the fifth largest compensation in Australia for this type of procedure, said Michael Donelly, director of the law firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, which represented them.
“Uber fought tooth and nail every step of the way, every day, during the five years of this lawsuit, each time trying to deny our class members any form of recourse or compensation for their losses,” Mr. Donelly said.
“After years of refusal […] Uber has given in,” he added, praising how “thousands of ordinary Australians have come together to take on a global giant”.
According to the lawyers, Uber engaged in “a range of shocking actions” when it launched in the country, including using “unlicensed cars with unlicensed drivers”.
The lead plaintiff, Nick Andrianakis, told local media that he was forced to close his taxi business after 40 years in business when Uber launched.
“I lost my passion for work […] and I lost my income that allowed my family to eat,” he said.
The American platform for booking vehicles with drivers (VTC), which has a stock market valuation of some 157 billion US dollars, did not wish to comment on the amount of compensation.
“When Uber started more than a decade ago, there were no regulations on ridesharing anywhere in the world, let alone in Australia,” the group said.
“Today it’s different, Uber is now regulated in every state and territory in Australia, and governments recognize us as an important part of the country’s transport offering.”