Seattle taxi drivers file suit against Uber
Mar 24, 2014, 6:06 PM | Updated: 6:21 pm
Seattle-area taxi drivers have filed a lawsuit against Uber, the upstart ride-sharing company, accusing it of operating illegally in Seattle and King County.
The Western Washington Taxi Cab Operators Association filed the suit in King County Superior Court, claiming the app-based transportation service has violated city, county and state laws, and “engages in an unlawful and deceptive business practice which harms the economic interests of taxicab drivers,” Geekwire reports.
The suit follows a vote earlier this month by the Seattle City Council to regulate the new services such as UberX, Lyft and Sidecar, including limiting the number of drivers that can be on the road at any one time. But the lawsuit appears to target Uber’s luxury service that partners with professional drivers of town cars and SUV’s.
The suit says the taxi drivers are forced to follow regulations imposed by the City of Seattle while Uber drivers are not held to the same rules.
“If the Operators Association’s members were to provide taxicab service without satisfying the City of Seattle and King County requirements, they would be subject to up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine,” the lawsuit complains.
It also argues taxi drivers must meet a number of other standards including higher insurance requirements, having security cameras, a GPS, a silent alarm, a fare meter and a fare list approved by the City and County.
The suit also claims that “Uber exempts itself from any duty to provide fair and equal service,” while taxi drivers “satisfy every request for service so long as there are any operating taxicabs not in use.”
In response, Uber issued the following statement:
Uber remains focused on connecting people with the safest and most reliable transportation options in Seattle and protecting the thousands of small business jobs created by our technology platform. It is unfortunate that the taxi industry is not similarly focused on what really matters: safety of riders and opportunity for drivers.
The drivers are seeking compensation for damages equal to the fares and tips lost to Uber, in addition to “exemplary damages in an amount equal to three times the lost fares and tips caused by defendant Uber.”
