Queenslanders call for UberX to be made legal after NSW decision

QUEENSLANDERS are urging their government to legalise the ride-sharing service UberX as WA looks set to become the third Australian jurisdiction to do so.

Ex taxi driver Steve who now is working for Uber with his own car pictured in Sydney today keeping up to date on his mobile, looking for fares.

PRESSURE is mounting on the Queensland government to legalise the controversial ride-sharing service UberX as Western Australia looks set to become the third Australian jurisdiction to do so.

The WA government flagged its intention to make UberX legal as part of sweeping reforms to the taxi sector announced today.

It follows the service being legalised in NSW yesterday and the ACT in October.

Now Queenslanders are taking to social media to call on their government to green-light UberX there, too, egged on by the ride-sharing company.

Uber has emailed its Queensland-based users encouraging them to tweet premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and tell her “it is time to move on ridesharing regulations”.

The email included the Twitter handles of Ms Palaszczuk, transport minister Stirling Hinchliffe and opposition transport spokesman Scott Emerson.

A review of Queensland legislation surrounding UberX isn’t due until August next year.

But it could help solve a unique problem emerging in the communities on either side of the NSW-Queensland border, where UberX is legal on one side and illegal on the other.

Questions have been raised over how locals in the twin towns of Tweed and Coolangatta can legally travel back and forth over the state line.

@Uber on the rise legally in Australia. Come on @AnnastaciaMP get on with it. Btw I got my new number plates today. "QLD the review state"

— Jason Crouch (@mycrouch) December 17, 2015

@AnnastaciaMP when will QLD follow suit and legalise @Uber ? I think it's a brilliant idea..

— Dan O'Brien (@danjnobrien) December 18, 2015

@AnnastaciaMP It's time for Uber in QLD. Let's get behind it.

— Jeremy Neal (@jeremybrettneal) December 17, 2015

@AnnastaciaMP soooo NSW have regulated #uber when are you going to do the same in #QLD ????? More options for transportation. Thank you 😊

— Stephen Gilligan (@gilly1161) December 17, 2015

Uber Queensland CEO Mike Abbott was unable to explain whether a NSW-licensed UberX driver could take a passenger from Coolangatta to Tweed Heads or the other way around, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

“It is crazy to think that what is essentially the same service is recognised as a regulated, safe and reliable ride on one side of the road in Tweed Heads is not on the other side in Coolangatta,” Mr Abbott said.

But Mr Abbott said the NSW approach would “absolutely work in Queensland”.

Queensland has been the scene of rising tensions between Uber and the established taxi industry this year, who accuse the ride-sharing company of being dangerous and illegitimate. In October two cab drivers were charged with allegedly bashing two Uber drivers in Brisbane.

Under the new laws announced in NSW yesterday, UberX drivers will have to pay a $45 licence fee, undergo criminal checks and have their cars checked for safety after premier Mike Baird decided to regulate the online service.

A $250 million adjustment package will also be established to compensate taxi and hire car licence plate owners.

West Australian transport minister Dean Nalder announced sweeping changes to the state’s taxi industry today that would allow new ride-sharing players, such as UberX, to apply for a new “omnibus” licence category.

UberX could possibly also become legal in Victoria, with premier Daniel Andrews reportedly considering a $1 per trip levy to compensate taxi drivers.

Originally published as Queenslanders call for UberX to be made legal after NSW decision