Taxicab owners are seeking $100 million from the City of Mississauga for damages resulting from alleged negligence in regulating Uber and other ride-hailing apps.

According to the legal action’s statement of claim, which was filed July 26, Mississauga failed to enforce its taxi-related bylaws effectively and permitted "different regulations” for ride-hailing operators regardless of the interests of taxi owners.

In doing so, the city neglected its “duty of care” to taxi owners, who lost significant income as well as licence plate value, the claim said.

Peter D. Pellier, who is one of the 189 plaintiffs in the legal action and acting as a spokesperson for the group, said Mississauga "basically stood back" and neglected to use its regulatory tools — allowing Uber to undercut taxi prices, flood the city with cars and gain a significant share of the market.

"When the city decided they weren't going to regulate Uber as a taxi company, which we claim they were and are, then it cost us everything. And the losses were staggering," he said.

Catherine Monast, senior media adviser with the city, said in an email that Mississauga had not been served with the lawsuit and wouldn't be able to provide comment.

The average reported sale price for Mississauga taxi licences so far in 2019, according to Monast's email, was $9,112. In 2013, the year before Uber expanded its app into Mississauga, the average reported sale price for the licences was $192,800.

Both figures don't include plates sold at a nominal value to a family member.

A city report in May found the average number of trips per month through ride-hailing apps in Mississauga was 700,000. The report also said city enforcement officers conduct an average of 1,000 inspections per month on ride-hailing vehicles.

Earlier in 2019, taxi owners asked the city for $50,000 for each licence to compensate for losses due to ride-hailing apps. The owners were not paid as Mississauga found that compensating taxi licence holders would violate The Municipal Act.