Sydney: Uber company has found it very expensive to enter Australia. Australian taxi drivers won US$178 million in compensation from the company in a huge, complex legal battle that has been going on since 2019. The court gave this decision on Monday. More than 8,000 taxi drivers and rental car owners began a legal battle against the company in 2019, arguing that they suffered significant losses when Uber entered Australia in 2012.
The drivers’ lead lawyer, Michael Donnelly, said the 271.8 million Australian dollars (US$178.3 million) settlement with the company is the fifth largest legal action in Australia’s legal history. Donnelly said, “Uber fought tooth and nail for five years, every day. Every effort was made to deprive our members of any remedy or compensation for their losses.
AAP’s response to ED’s statement, said- There is not a single evidence against Kejriwal, why are you not waiting for the matter to be taken to court?
The lawyers alleged that when Uber launched in the country, it was doing ‘bizarre’ things, including using ‘unlicensed cars with unaccredited drivers’. Taxi driver Nick Andrianakis said that when Uber was launched, he was forced to close his 40-year-old taxi business. I lost my passion for work…and I also lost my income, which used to provide food for my family.
Uber said that before signing the settlement paper in court, it kept saying that this was unfair. When Uber started more than a decade ago, ridesharing regulations did not exist anywhere in the world, let alone Australia. Today is different, and Uber now operates in every state and every territory across Australia, and governments recognize us as an important part of the country’s transportation.
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Tags: Australia, Uber
FIRST PUBLISHED: March 18, 2024, 23:02 IST