Take off, eh, you Uber: Ontario lobs $300m lawsuit at cab app biz

Taxi drivers start legal war in the Great White North

Uber has been hit with a CAN$400m (US$305m) lawsuit in Canada accusing the upstart of violating taxi laws.

The class-action suit, filed on behalf of cabbies in the Ontario province, claims Uber's dial-a-ride service operates as a fleet of illegal cabs, picking up people and taking money for journeys without obtaining proper licensing.

The largest province in Canada, Ontario accounts for about 38 per cent of the country's entire population and houses the nation's capital (Ottawa) and largest city (Toronto). Lawyers representing the class of taxi drivers argue that the UberX and UberXL services violate Ontario's Highway Traffic Act covering commercial ride services.

"The Plaintiff alleges that Uber X and UberXL have created an enormous marketplace for illegal transportation in Toronto," said Jay Strosberg, attorney for Sutts, Strosberg LLP.

"The courts have previously ruled that Uber Black, Uber SUV and Uber Taxi services do not contravene any municipal bylaws, however we are alleging that UberX and UberXL do not fall into the same category, and are in fact, blatantly in contravention of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, and detrimental to the ongoing business interests of every taxi and limousine operator in the province."

In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory damages, the suit asks for CAN$10m (US$7.65m) in punitive damages and an injunction barring Uber from operating the UberX and UberXL services within Ontario's borders.

Uber did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Being accused of violating taxi laws is nothing new for Uber. Though its high-end services use licensed commercial drivers and vehicles, the more popular UberX (known as UberPop in some locations) uses drivers who often don't have commercial licenses or local taxi medallions.

This has drawn the ire of taxi agencies and local governments, who fear the Uber services take money away from the taxi industry and argue that the Uber services put riders at greater risk of injury and assault. Uber has remained defiant, claiming its ride-sharing services are fully legal and safe. ®