Sydney, Australia, Mar 18 (EFE).- Uber agreed to pay some AU$271.8 million ($178.4 million) to more than 8,000 Australian taxi and hire car drivers, operators and licensees for loss of income when the multinational rideshare company entered the country, according to lawyers on Monday.

The settlement is the fifth highest class action resolution in Australian legal history, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, which represents the plaintiffs, announced in a statement.

"The court will need to approve the settlement as being in the best interests of group members, and work is now underway on that process," it added.

Principal lawyer Michael Donelly said that during the five-year legal battle Uber "fought tooth and nail at every point along the way," but the agreement would put "beyond any doubt" that it had been held accountable, according to Australian public broadcaster ABC.

In a statement, Uber said that with the agreement it hopes to leave these "legacy issues" in the past, recalling that since 2018 it has made "significant contributions into various state-level taxi compensation schemes."

Uber also claimed that when it began its operations more than a decade ago in the country, "ridesharing regulations did not exist anywhere in the world, let alone Australia."

"Today is different, and Uber is now regulated in every state and territory across Australia, and governments recognise us as an important part of the nation's transport mix," it said.

Uber is currently valued at around $158 billion and has a presence in 72 countries.

In various nations, taxi drivers have complained or have protested about unfair competition from Uber and other similar companies, demanding strict regulations in the sector. EFE

© 2024 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc., source EFE Ingles