Class Action Contends Uber And Taxi Apps Colluded To Raise Ride Prices

Case Overview: A New York rider filed a lawsuit accusing Uber and several taxi-hailing apps of fixing ride prices by coordinating fares across their platforms.

Consumers Affected: Riders who paid for Uber-hailed trips in major U.S. cities since 2022.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Several ride-hailing platforms are being accused of colluding with Uber to fix prices and wipe out competition just as consumers were starting to see cheaper alternatives.

The lawsuit alleges that Curb, CMT, ARRO, and Flywheel illegally coordinated fares with Uber, leaving riders with higher prices and fewer real choices in major U.S. cities.

The companies allegedly violated federal antitrust law by entering into horizontal agreements that aligned prices across UberX, taxis booked through the Uber app, and taxis booked directly through competing taxi-hailing apps.

Agreements Allegedly Ended Price Competition In Major Cities

In 2022 Uber allegedly entered into a series of partnerships with taxi-hailing apps that integrated their technology directly into Uber’s platform, the lawsuit claims. On the surface, the deals were pitched as expanding access to licensed taxis. 

But the lawsuit argues the effect was the opposite: instead of competing on price, Uber and its former rivals allegedly began charging the same or nearly the same fares.

The lawsuit contends that this coordination erased meaningful price competition between ride-share services and taxis at the exact moment competition was finally starting to return. 

Regulatory changes in cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. had allowed taxi apps to offer upfront pricing, enabling them to undercut Uber and gain market share. The complaint says the agreements stopped that momentum cold.

By aligning prices, the lawsuit alleges, the companies raised fares across platforms, reduced consumer choice, and restrained competition in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Rider Alleges Uber’s Taxi Partnerships Drove Up Fares

The case was filed by Brendan Kretschmer, a New York resident who says he regularly used Uber to hail rides.

While he didn’t use or sign up for the taxi-hailing apps named in the lawsuit, Kretschmer says he and other riders were harmed by paying higher-than-competitive prices for rides because of the alleged coordination between Uber and the taxi apps.

Curb, CMT, ARRO, and Flywheel operate taxi-hailing services in major metropolitan areas across the country. Uber’s app can also be used to order licensed taxis in many of those same cities using the defendants’ technology.

The complaint emphasizes that ride-hailing markets are notoriously hard to enter due to strong network effects: riders want apps with lots of drivers, and drivers want apps with lots of riders. 

Uber’s early strategy of subsidizing rides and underpricing competitors helped it build scale, after which prices steadily rose. By 2021, taxi-hailing apps had begun offering lower fares in some cities, until the challenged agreements took effect.

The lawsuit claims those partnerships transformed competitors into collaborators, with pricing aligned through shared systems and technology, eliminating independent fare setting. The result, Kretschmer says, was jacked up prices for riders.

Antitrust Lawsuits Mount Across Multiple Industries

This isn’t Uber's first trip to the courtroom over alleged collusion. The ride-sharing giant and Lyft faced legal action from drivers in 2022 alleging coordinated pricing harmed both workers and riders. 

Outside transportation, consumers have recently sued PepsiCo and Walmart over alleged price-fixing that inflated soft drink prices, while electronics manufacturers like LG, Panasonic, Philips, and Samsung have been accused of conspiring to raise prices on CRT products.

Other cases have agricultural producers, tire makers, and archery brands.

In his lawsuit, Kretschmer is seeking to represent riders who paid for Uber-hailed trips in Boston, Chicago, New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

The lawsuit seeks damages, legal fees, costs, and interest, accusing the companies of unlawfully fixing prices and forcing riders to pay more for everyday transportation.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Kretschmer v. Curb Mobility LLC, et al.
• Case Number: 1:25-cv-09758 
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York 

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Kyle Roche, Edward Normand, and Stephen Lagos (Freedman Normand Friedland LLP)

If you’ve used any of the ride hailing apps named in the lawsuit, let us know your experience in the comments below!