UberX Ridesharing App Causing Controversy, May Be In Breach of State Legislation
Thursday 1 May 2014 @ 11.15 a.m. | Trade & Commerce
Taxi app company Uber has recently begun a trial of UberX in Sydney, a new “ridesharing service" that connects people with informal taxi drivers. Drivers don’t have to be licensed taxi drivers, but need to be at least 24, hold an Australian drivers license and ‘comprehensive insurance’ and drive a mid or full size 4-door vehicle that is less than 9 years old. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, rates are “far lower than what a traditional Sydney taxi charges”, and not surprisingly, the trial has “infuriated” the local taxi industry, with concerns also being raised about its lack of regulation.
Reaction in NSW
The NSW Government has been sending mixed messages on the legality of the service. Last week, Gladys Berejiklian apparently told 2GB that it may depend on how UberX is promoted:
“It depends what they’re purporting to call themselves… They’re not allowed to call themselves a taxi service, they’re not allowed to call themselves certain categories of things.”
However, yesterday Transport for NSW released a much stronger statement in a Media Release, in which a spokesperson said:
“The law is clear and has not changed: if a NSW driver is taking paying members of the public as passengers, the driver and the vehicle must operate in accordance with the Passenger Transport Act… Under the Act, such services must be provided in a licensed taxi or hire car, by an appropriately accredited driver, authorised by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS)”.
Subsection 7(1) of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 (NSW) provides:
(1) A person who carries on a public passenger service by means of a bus or other vehicle (other than a vessel), being a service operating within, or partly within, New South Wales, is guilty of an offence unless the person is an accredited service operator for that service.
The Media Release also noted that a person who breaches the Act by carrying on a public passenger services faces fines of up to $110,000.
Reaction in Victoria
UberX faces similar problems in Victoria. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on April 25 that Taxi Services Commissioner Graeme Samuel was “surprised and irritated Uber did not approach him and the TSC about its new service”, and that he believed “[o]n the face of it….Uber was not complying with the Victorian public transport legislation”, and would consider prosecution.
However, Graeme Samuel has more recently seemed to indicate there is at least a possibility of working with Uber in Victoria. A later report from April 30 states that he believes drivers under UberX could be classified as driving hire cars, rather than taxis, under Victorian legislation. This would mean they would be subject to much more relaxed licence conditions designed to “facilitate competition”.
Uber’s response
Uber appears to be unfazed by the negative responses, moving UberX Sydney from the trial period to an official launch yesterday. Technology news website Gizmodo has reported that the company:
“mainly operates on an “ask forgiveness, never permission” model when launching in a new city”.
However, although the Transport for NSW Media Release does not specifically name Uber, it seems clear from the statement that the ridesharing service is firmly in their sights, and there will almost certainly be more developments to come.
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