We all know a former music manager was at the centre of a major court case involving Uber in Australia, but you may not know that the popular ride-sharing service got embroiled in another music controversy late last month.

As WA Today reports, taxi drivers in Perth are accusing Uber drivers of setting up unsanctioned ranks outside of Stereosonic Perth in Claremont and establishing an effective “lockout” of enraged taxi drivers.

The controversy stems from the fact that Stereosonic had a commercial deal with Uber, whereby punters were encouraged to use the app, providing them with a code that would give them a $25 discount on their trip – “STEREOSONICAUS”.

However, taxi drivers are claiming the result was lengthy queues and roundabout routes to the festival site that acted as a lockout and only permitted Uber drivers from accessing the venue.

“There is no way in the world Uber can maintain this is ride-sharing, picking up people and dropping them off at the Stereo ‘thingamajig’,” Taxi Industry Forum chief Howard Lance told Radio 6PR.

“I understand there was a [taxi] rank on one side of the showgrounds, which I think people had a devil of a job getting to. The queue was that long and they were allowing only one car to leave. You couldn’t see the front [of the queue] and some drivers gave up in disgust.”

“One lady [driver] said she drove round and round before she got to rank. But people with private cars were going through the rank. Another driver told me all they had to do was flash their Uber phone and they got let in.”

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However, one Uber driver claimed the company simply sponsored the event and offered a voucher to punters, resulting in a high demand. “Uber can’t issue taxi lockouts,” he told Adam Shand’s Drive show.

“Riders were simply outside the event waiting for their Uber, even though there might have been a taxi in front of them. Many of the riders from the event said the Uber voucher was the perfect opportunity for people who hadn’t used the ride share platform before to register and try it out.”

The driver, named Jay, said the surge pricing that came into force as a result of the high demand for post-Stereo Uber rides “probably swallowed” the $25 voucher anyway. “Riders were probably no better off financially,” he said.

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