Uber legal battle with London taxi drivers escalates as 2,400 extra cabbies join claim for losses worth over £300 million

Uber legal battle escalates as group action claim adds 2,400 extra taxi drivers to claim now worth over £300 million.

On 24 June 2024, the RGL BULit21 Group significantly bolstered its legal challenge against Uber by adding claims from over 2,400 additional taxi drivers. This move propels the overall value of the claim to around £330 million.

In May, over 10,500 licensed black cab drivers, represented by RGL Management, filed the initial action in the High Court under the title "BULit21". The lawsuit alleges substantial losses resulting from Uber's allegedly unlawful operations in London from May 2012 to March 2018.

The amended Claim Form now encompasses the claims of 13,295 black cab drivers, highlighting a major development in the BULit21 litigation.

All claimant taxi drivers, whether they joined in May or June 2024, are now pursuing the same compensation claim for losses incurred due to Uber's operations in the London taxi market between June 2012 and mid-March 2018. These claims are primarily grounded in the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998.

Eligibility for joining the group action extends to any licensed green or yellow badge driver active in London between June 2012 and December 2018. Full-time drivers during this period could potentially receive compensation exceeding £25,000.

The basis of the claim is unlawful means conspiracy arising out of actions taken by Uber to obtain, improperly, a Private Hire Vehicle Licence, as granted to them by Transport for London (TfL), pursuant to the terms of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1988. The Claimants will allege that Uber's operating system did not comply with the requirements of the Act; that Uber knew this at all material times; and that in order to obtain its licence Uber deliberately misled TfL as to how that operating system worked.