Australia’s Capital Is Legalising Uber In A World First

London’s transport authority, Transport for London (TFL), is considering an overhaul of rules governing mini-cabs for app-based taxi firms like Uber and Hailo.

The ACT Government said it recognised that new business models may put pressure on Canberra’s existing taxi drivers and owners. And people wanting to be drivers for Uber or other ride-sharing services will have to pay a $150 each year in licence and accreditation fees, plus charges for vehicle inspections and background checks.

Hire auto fees will be slashed from AU$4,600 ($3,225) to AU$100 ($70) a year.

So, should Queensland do the same?

In the U.S., activists have accused Uber of failing on accessibility for disabled people – Uber insists it has strict anti-discrimination policies in place, an UberASSIST product “in selected markets” to assist riders with impaired mobility, and other products enabling deaf or hard of hearing drivers to work.

The Victorian government is now deliberating on its own Uber-inclusive regulations, with the state’s taxi drivers also involved in industrial action. We specifically refer to Uber, of course.

Meyers figures that drivers lose 69% of their first dollar per mile and 49% of the second to expenses, before taxes. On the contrary, says Palaniappan in an interview with Arabian Business in Dubai, MENA is one of the company’s fastest-growing regions and that is unlikely to change any time soon.

Mr Johnson, said: “Londoners have embraced new technology and rightly so, but we can’t continue to have more than 13,000 private hire drivers in central London and growing given the congestion that results”.

“This is why we have nothing against Hopin: because they provide their services only to legal taxi drivers”, Wenzl said.

To say that the taxi industry in Hamilton and across the country is heavily regulated would be an understatement. Politicians are given Cabcharge dockets that can be used only in traditional taxis. The private, unlicensed citizen is offering a taxi service and Uber is acting as a broker.

It is anticipated that the ACT regulations will set an example for other Australian jurisdictions where Uber still remains unregulated. Uber managed to create local supremacy in the United States through promising higher pay to drivers and lower prices to passengers using price penetration and dynamic pricing.

The proposals include a minimum five-minute wait time between ordering a private hire vehicle and it arriving, and banning operators from showing cars for hire within a smartphone app – a hallmark of the American company’s service. I’m not going to drag Uber and Lyft back into the 20th century.

SHANE RATTENBURY: We do want to allow a level of innovation, and also competition, in our transport market here in Canberra.

Consumer advocacy group CHOICE also welcomed the ACT government’s decision, following an investigation by the body last week which found UberX was safe, reliable and nine times out of 10 cheaper.