Image copyright AFP
Uber may have affected the business of taxi drivers on the planet, but it is generating profits for many lawyers.
the arrival of the US firm and its application for private transport of passengers to cities worldwide generates various phenomena that are repeated similarly in many countries.
in a first act, thousands of users relieved breathe to find formula that ofrecce Uber, which helps them to overcome the difficulties of transport in the city and avoid the expensive prices of conventional taxis .
Act Next, the local taxi industry and other citizens groups organize noisy protests , claiming that the arrival of Uber can affect the livelihood of many local drivers.
in a third act, dispute moves to the courts and Uber faces a battery of lawsuits criticizing various aspects of its business model .
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408 Cities of the world where it operates
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400,000 Drivers in the United States
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11% Percentage of students in the US drivers
AP
One of lime and sand
the results of esoso processes vary greatly.
This Thursday night was learned that Uber had reached an agreement in US courts to pay up to US $ 100 million and thus resolve a pending lawsuit against the firm.
the case sought to establish whether drivers Uber are company employees or contractors, as argued by the firm.
agreement reached accepts that drivers remain independent contractors, but states that the firm will pay US $ 84 million drivers in the first instance, and another US $ 16 million in one year under certain conditions.
This process I could have had a millionaire impact on the way the company develops its business, since resolved that the drivers were employees, Uber would have been obligated to pay these substantial additional benefits.
In early April, the turn of legal disputes Uber had been in Santiago .
Here, an appeals court gave reason to the American company against a lawsuit that sought to declare it illegal.
Meanwhile, almost at the same time, Argentina court accepted a claim of taxi drivers against the company.
in many other cities, the result has been unfavorable to the controversial US company, whose application is now banned in European countries like Spain.
All these legal disputes have a substantial financial cost to Uber.
Prior to that agreement Thursday, the British newspaper the Guardian estimated in early April that Uber could having spent US $ 62 million to settle legal disputes since 2009 .
Reuters meanwhile, said last October that the firm faced 170 lawsuits in the US alone since October 2012 .
Among the legal disputes that have sprouted particularly expensive, is also one in California (western US), where he reached an agreement early month.
Uber committed before a judge to pay $ 10 million for saying that was the safest road service , when according to the authorities, the process of scrutiny their drivers were less stringent than those of other taxi companies.
the settlement also provides that Uber should pay US $ 15 million additional does not meet other requirements in the coming two years.
Case crucial
But few disputes Uber caused as much interest as the company fought in federal court in San Francisco, California also, against drivers who wanted to be recognized as employees and not contractors of the firm, which was settled Thursday.
Despite its cost of US $ 100 million the agreement has generated some relief for Uber and other similar firms using contractors . An adverse ruling, warning many would have been worrying for the entire sector.
One of the lawyers of drivers, Shannon Liss-Riordan said some would be disappointed because the case no longer go to trial, but added that there was a “significatvo risk of losing” if the process moved forward.
This is partly because a federal appeals court recently agreed to review an order that allowed drivers Uber sue collectively the company.
Liss-Riordan added that the agreement did not prevent that in the future, other tribunals or US authorities classify such drivers as employees of the company.
Uber happy?
on the side of the company, President of Uber, Travis Kalanick blogged Friday expressing his satisfaction with the agreement.
Kalanick argues that, in fact, most drivers are happy with the legal status that the lawsuit sought to change.
“In the United States, about 90% of drivers using our app say they choose Uber because they want to be their own boss,” said the executive.
Uber has obtained a favorable outcome this time but few believe it will be the last legal barrier across the company.
this is the price, some will say, you have created a model expanding business in many countries at once and affects many interests simultaneously.
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