Uber, the ride-hailing and freight transport company, has reportedly agreed to pay $178 million USD to settle a class action lawsuit by Australian taxi operators and drivers who accused the company of breaking laws requiring taxis and hire cars to be licensed.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of 8,000 taxi and hire car owners who say they lost income when the ride-hailing company moved into the country in 2012. They took revenue from licensed taxi drivers while destroying the value of the licenses they had paid for.
The report further mentions that in 2015, the law was changed to allow Uber to operate without taxi licenses. State governments also established compensation schemes for taxi drivers and license owners affected by the change, which Uber claimed to have contributed to since 2018.
According to Uber, no comments on specifics has been disclosed until the settlement is finalized in court.
