Melbourne taxi drivers will sue Uber for A $500m! The reason is that taxi drivers believe that Uber as a sharing car giant robbed their business, damaging the health of the entire industry.
A class action bill to be filed in the coming weeks will seek to recoup some of Uber`s profits before operating legally in Melbourne.
Taxi drivers are also suing uber for compensation, which is expected to bring in more than A $500m if it wins, and that money will be donated to victims of the black Saturday forest fire.
"We are asking for compensation from Uber because they are well aware of the state law that requires a permit to operate a taxi or rental vehicle before entering the state market," said Rod Barton, president of the Commercial vehicle Association, this morning.
"but they chose not to do so, they started running before they got a license, and uber has a huge business advantage over the operators here, which has caused us huge economic losses."
"We are putting pressure on them to make up for the losses suffered by the taxi industry and the contempt for our licensing system."
The case has received $20 million in legal aid from the UK Port Litigation Fund.
"We found the best law firm in the country, we have an international financier, and our international self-help is ready to spend millions of dollars to win the lawsuit," Mr. Barton said.
"We need a strong supporter who can compete with Uber.
"if they don`t think the lawsuit is going to win, then these people don`t risk it at all."
Uber first landed in Australia in November 2012, but did not operate legally until August 2017 in Victoria.
Taxi licences peaked at $ five hundred thousand in 2010, but the price of permits plummeted to $55 in a deal between Uber and the state of Victoria, making it easier for Uber drivers to get a license.
Since then, the total number of taxis joining Uber has almost doubled, from 5600 to 10500.
After the legalization of the Uber, the number of registered cars owned by companies like Uber jumped to 35000 from 2800 in 2016.
"We said from the beginning that we can`t stop Uber from entering the market, we just want a level playing field," Mr. Barton said.
In a statement to 9NEWS, Uber said they would "continue to focus on opportunities for Victorian drivers to use Uber to make money flexibly, and on the good experience of Uber users."
Source: https://www.9news.com.au/2018/10/19/04/02/uber-melbourne-cab-driver-law-suit-harbour-litigation-funding-black-saturday
