The London Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) has said it is considering suing Uber over loss of earnings amounting to £1billion.
This comes weeks after Uber won a court case to continue operating in the capital and was issued a 15-month license.
The union estimates that 25,000 licensed drivers —of which 11,000 are LTDA members— lost £11,000 each over a five-year period due to operational failures.
The union is seeking legal advice from elite law firm Mischon de Reya to ascertain how they could recover the earnings given the difference in earnings between drivers.
The union told Sky News that even though Uber had made changes since being ruled not “fit and proper” by Transport for London to operate in the capital, black cab drivers lost earnings prior to the changes and their case relates to the first five years Uber operated in London.
LTDA general secretary Steve McNamara said: “We’ve been approached by a number of members to help them explore whether there would be grounds for a potential class action on behalf of all taxi drivers against Uber. We are in the very early stages of obtaining legal advice from leading law firm Mishcon de Reya on whether this is a possibility. We’ll continue to do everything we can to support our members and taxi drivers across London by exploring every avenue to ensure they are treated fairly.”
Uber, which has 3.6million users in London and 45,000 registered drivers, said it could not comment on the matter without knowing the basis of the potential legal action.
By Airport Pickups London
