Uber vs Taxis: which is better?

Uber vs Taxis: which is better?

FURIOUS taxi drivers in Melbourne have joined forces to launch a $500 million class action claim against Uber, over allegations the company stole their livelihoods by operating illegally in the city.

Cabbies are suing the ride-share giant for profits that were allegedly lost during the time Uber operated in Melbourne before it was legalised.

They are also planning to sue for damages and if they are successful the payout is expected to soar into the hundreds of millions.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn, which ran the class action that saw $500 million paid to Black Saturday bushfire victims, is expected to launch the compensation claim in the Victorian Supreme Court within the coming weeks.

Drivers are being saved from digging into their own pockets to launch the case after it was revealed that the class action would be bankrolled externally.

Ms O’Shea revealed $20 million has already been offered to get the court case moving.

Senior Associate Elizabeth O’Shea told AAP that about 1000 people who held a taxi licence while Uber was “operating unlawfully” and lost income as a result, had joined the action.

“We are very close to finalising the timing but there is a bit of paperwork yet to be done,” she said.

Drivers were being saved from digging into their own pockets to launch the claim after it was revealed that the class action would be bankrolled externally.

Ms O’Shea revealed $20 million had already been offered to get the class action moving.

“We do not want the drivers to dip into their own pockets,” she said.

Under Victorian law, companies like Uber have to have a taxi or car hire licenses to operate but the civil suit claims they operated in the state despite this, leading to significant losses for taxi drivers.

Uber first arrived in Australia in November 2012 but was not operating legally in Victoria until August 2017.

Commercial Passenger Vehicle Association President Rod Barton said Uber knew “full well” it was operating illegally.

“We’re pursuing Uber because they came into the Victorian market knowing full well it was the requirement under law to have a taxi or hire car license to operate,” Mr Barton told Nine News.

“They chose not to do so and had a huge commercial advantage over the operators here and that advantage has caused us enormous financial harm.

“We are pursuing them for the loss of income and the destruction of our licenses.”

A deal between Uber and the Victorian government saw taxi licenses drop to just $55, a significant decrease from its peak price of $500,000 in 2010, making it easier for drivers to obtain.

The deal saw the number of registered taxis on the road go from 5600 to 10,500.

The full list of claimants is yet to be finalised and registration to join the action over Uber’s conduct between April 1, 2014 and July 31, 2017, remains open.

The firm began investigating the “complex and difficult” case last year before only “relatively recently” deciding to take it on, Ms O’Shea said.

— With AAP