NSW’s state government has agreed to give Uber the green light to operate within the state, and will give minimal compensation to taxi owners in exchange for a loosening of regulations around ride-sharing and private car-hailing apps in the state.
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The NSW Transport Minister and Mr Baird’s office have been contacted for comment.
While premier Mike Baird has said he wants to create a “level playing field“, the new legislation risks undermining what has made UberX so popular in the first place. Meanwhile, the traditional cabbie will still get dibs at the taxi ranks and will have exclusive access to Sydney airport.
New South Wales becomes the second jurisdiction in Australia to legalise Uber, after the ACT.
“These reforms are expected to blow the doors of innovation wide open for “booked” service, where customers can track their driver, provide direct feedback, hold them more accountable and choose from accessible price points”, Mr Constance said.
To aid the taxi sector, the state government said it would next year table a bill to for a $250 million assistance package to help the industry’s transition to the new model.
“People will have more choice, they’ll have better services and better value when it comes to the point to point market”, he said.
As for the newly appointed players, all Uber drivers in NSW will now have to pay a separate licensing fee, have criminal background checks and have their cars go through regular safety checks.
It’s no surprise that the taxi industry continue to vociferously oppose UberX’s legalisation in Australia.
“If we learn from this and take on the lesson of disruption we can get ahead and improve services to the passenger”, he said.
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“Ride-sharing is not only revolutionising the transportation status quo but also helping make Sydney a more economically vibrant, better connected and more sustainable city”, the general manager of Uber Australia and NZ, David Rohrsheim, said in a statement on Thursday.
