I would feel sorry for the taxi drivers, but I can't bring myself to. I lived in Perth (Western Australia, one of the states reported to be involved in this suit) for almost 10 years without a car, and the taxi industry routinely failed to deliver even a basic service. I can't count the number of times I've had a booked cab fail to turn up, or a driver refuse my fare because it was "too far" or "not far enough". Not to mention the eye-watering costs.

I recently (Feb) used Uber in Perth, and had to wait a maximum of 10 minutes to get a lift, even from the suburbs. Drivers have been unfailingly polite and usually interesting to talk with. It's provided a needed source of supplementary income to people struggling with the mining downturn.

I'm not a fan of Uber's old culture (I have no idea if they're changed since the management shakeup). I'm not a fan of startups just ignoring regulation. But I can't argue about these results.

I hope the taxi industry changes and adapts to Uber, rather than using legislation to force Uber to become more like the taxi industry.