TORONTO -- Residents in several southwestern Ontario communities can start using Uber on Thursday, and the ride-hailing service is offering them free rides to try it out.
Uber Canada says its uberX service will be available in London, Waterloo Region, Hamilton and Guelph, and customers can ride up to four times for free until Sunday.
The number of Canadian communities offering the service is now more than 25, including Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.
Uber connects riders and drivers using their own vehicles through a smartphone app, and says its prices are up to 25 per cent less than a taxi.
Cabbies have been up in arms about Uber and not all communities have embraced the service.
The City of Toronto recently lost a court case against Uber when a judge ruled there was no evidence the company was operating as a taxi broker or that it breached city bylaws.
Uber says the expansion will make the service available to more than 1.4 million Ontarians.
"By opening these markets, Uber stands to create more than 2,400 driver partner jobs in the region over the next year," said Ian Black, general manager of Uber Canada.
Class-action suit filed in Ontario court against Uber
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Uber and UberX on behalf of cab and limousine owners and drivers in Ontario.
Law firm Sutts, Strosberg LLP says the suit by Dominik Konjevic, a taxicab owner and operator, has been filed as class action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
It alleges Uber is operating its ride-hailing service even though drivers are not licensed as required by the Highway Traffic Act.
The lawsuit seeks $400 million in compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages and an injunction prohibiting UberX from continuing to operate in Ontario.
Word of the lawsuit comes on the same day Uber announced it is expanding into several southwestern Ontario communities.
A spokeswoman for Uber Canada calls the suit "protectionist" and says it is "without merit."
"As we saw from a recent court ruling in Ontario, Uber is operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services," Susie Heath said Thursday in an email.
Superior Court Judge Sean Dunphy ruled earlier this month there was "no evidence" Uber is operating as a taxi broker or that it breached Toronto city bylaws.
Jay Strosberg, of Sutts, Strosberg LLP, said in a statement the class-action suit is taking a different approach than other actions where the courts ruled Uber does not contravene municipal bylaws.
"We are alleging that UberX and UberXL do not fall into the same category, and are in fact, blatantly in contravention of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, and detrimental to the ongoing business interests of every taxi and limousine operator in the province," he said.
"The Plaintiff alleges that the defendants conspired to arrange or offered to arrange for these passengers to be picked up by the UberX drivers thereby diverting millions of dollars of revenue away from licensed taxicab, limousine owners and drivers in Ontario and injuring their ongoing legitimate business interests."
The suit alleges that Uber and its UberX and Uber XL platforms knowingly created and control a business enterprise that would harm the business interests of the Plaintiff and the Class Members.
It also alleges that the defendants were unjustly enriched when they collected a portion of the UberX and Uber XL fares which were in contravention of Ontario's Highway Traffic Act that deals with transporting passengers for compensation.
