This was published 8 years ago
Uber legal in Queensland from September 5, Premier announces on Facebook
By Amy Remeikis
The Queensland government has announced it will legalise ride sharing services such as Uber across the state.
Fairfax Media understands that, while ride share will be legal, drivers will face more regulations to match the established taxi industry, which will include background checks.
After Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered the delivery of the final 'Opportunities for Queensland Transport' report, a state government-ordered review designed to shape the taxi and ride sharing industries into the future, be brought forward to the end of July, Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe indicated the report, and the government response, would be delivered in August.
The Premier confirmed on Thursday morning via her Facebook page that her government would legalise ride-sharing services from September 5.
Queensland's state government will legalise Uber in September.
With Parliament due to sit next week and the government looking for an issue it can stick its teeth into amidst bad polling and falling job figures, ride sharing will shoot to the top of the agenda with the third scenario offered in the draft report, which legalised ride sharing but gave taxis exclusive rank and hail access, as well as compensation for decreased licence values, to be the one offered to the public for consultation.
"A new operating licence category is established to accommodate ride-sourcing for booked services and also removes the prescriptive requirements for limousines and allows them to compete in the on-demand booked market," the draft report recommends as the third option.
"This provides greater flexibility to enter and exit the booked market according to demand for these services, as well as encouraging competition and providing incentives for operators to innovate as the market evolves with changing technologies and customer demands.
"Fares in the booked market will be set by the market, as customers can reject fares they consider unreasonable, while maximum fare regulation would be maintained for rank and hail work to provide confidence for customers that they will not be unknowingly exposed to unreasonable fares.
"In addition, the reduced cost of entry, fare competition and greater flexibility in supply will benefit customers through greater choice, lower fare prices and shorter wait times.
"A number of prescriptive safety requirements [e.g. in-vehicle safety cameras] are removed and an outcomes-based regulatory framework is adopted to encourage operators to use the equipment.
"This provides greater choice and flexibility to operators in how they address safety issues, and reduces their regulatory burden. In addition, vehicle age restrictions are removed, with a greater focus on the vehicle meeting various industry safety standards [i.e. the ANCAP safety rating].
"It is in each provider's interest to deliver good quality customer service to retain business in a more competitive market.
"While this approach takes into consideration the long term interests of the customer, it is likely that there would be a period of adjustment in the short-term, as the market transitions to the new framework.
"By removing market entry restrictions and deregulating fares in the booked market, this scenario reduces many of the inefficiencies the current regulatory framework creates with customers being the main beneficiary.
"While the existing industry is likely to place value on retaining exclusive access to the rank and hail market, the deregulation of the booked market will encourage industry to be more competitive."
More jurisdictions have legalised ride-sharing services in Australia than not, leaving the Queensland government with little wriggle room. It delayed acting on the issue for almost a year, instigating a review that it said would provide the best options for moving forward rather than "rushing" legislation.
But the compensation for taxi licences, which were found to have dropped in value from $519,000 in 2014 to around $260,000 in 2016, will be one of the most difficult areas for the government to traverse in legalising ride services, which have continued to operate in Queensland, despite a 2013 cease and desist order.
Many expect the government to follow the example of New South Wales and add a levy to rides undertaken on services such as Uber to help compensate the established industry. While the taxi industry has pushed back against ride sharing being legalised, given the differences in regulations between the two transport options, Uber and others have pushed back against any form of regulation or levy.
Parliament resumes on August 16.