Taxi-hailing apps face lawsuit alleging price-fixing with Uber

A group of taxi-hailing app providers is facing a lawsuit in New York federal court for allegedly working with Uber to keep ride prices high across several US cities.

The class action complaint, filed on November 25, 2025 names Curb Mobility, Flywheel Technologies, Creative Mobile Technologies, and its subsidiary Arro.

The lawsuit claims these companies’ partnership with Uber has resulted in nearly identical pricing for rides booked through Uber and the defendants’ apps in cities including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

The plaintiff seeks class action status for potentially millions of ride-hail customers and is asking the court for monetary damages and an order to increase competition.

Uber is not named as a defendant in the suit.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

NYC taxi–Uber pricing under TLC rules

TLC lets licensed electronic-hail (e-hail) providers offer upfront pricing in yellow and green taxicabs, with binding quotes once riders complete that request 1.
These rules mean identical pricing across Uber and taxi apps like Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT)/Arro and Curb can stem from TLC fare structures rather than coordination.
Under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) congestion pricing plan, taxis plus street-hail liveries (for-hire vehicles allowed to take street hails in some areas) would pay $1.25 per trip in the Congestion Relief Zone, while high-volume for-hire services such as Uber or Lyft face a $2.50 charge 2.
Without proof that any pricing agreements break TLC rules or exceed approved upfront pricing, the court will ask if the conduct follows the regulations or veers into anticompetitive behavior.

Fare comparison tools can help riders see prices

Studies say NYC riders pay about $300 million extra a year by not checking prices, and only about 16% of US users compare apps before booking 3.
Uber blocks third-party API use for price comparisons, with its API Terms of Use banning competitive price comparison services 4.
Developers plus mobility startups can build comparison tools despite API limits by using web scraping, crowdsourced data, or deals with smaller platforms while following applicable terms of service and laws.
Allegations about coordinated pricing raise price-transparency concerns and could draw regulators who push for more pricing data. Comparison-tool builders may want to prepare for that shift.