It’s been a long time to flag down, but ride-share company Uber will pay nearly $272 million to compensate Aussie taxi and hire car drivers for loss of income and licence values after settling a 5-year legal battle. Over 8,000 taxi and hire car owners joined the class action, which alleged Uber knowingly operated illegally and had an unfair advantage when they launched in Oz as they used unaccredited cars and drivers. The settlement marks the fifth largest class action payout in Oz’s history. Maurice Blackburn Lawyers says “after years of refusing to do the right thing … Uber has blinked, and thousands of everyday Australians joined together to stare down a global giant“. Uber says it has made “significant contributions into various state-level taxi compensation schemes”, and with this settlement, the company is putting “these legacy issues firmly in our past.”