Uber to face several rivals in Victorian taxi industry as new operators plan to jump on board

NEW operators are already planning to jump on board Melbourne’s taxi industry after it is deregulated, giving consumers more options. Here’s just a few.

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CONSUMERS will have more options to get around Melbourne once the taxi industry is deregulated, with new operators already planning to jump on board.

After the Andrews Government announced it would legalise ride-share services and let taxi operators charge flexible fares, several companies revealed they were eyeing Victoria as a place to do business.

Uber has so far dominated the ride-share space because it has continued to provide ­services without regulations or laws governing its operations. But other providers are ­already looking at carrying fares in Melbourne.

Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday spruiked Shebah, which he said was founded by single mum George McEncroe as a service for women.

“This is another option for the marketplace: a service founded by women, operated by women drivers, and ­designed for women passengers,” he said.

London Transport director Elgan Potter said his business planned to import 200 ­London-style cabs, which would cost about the same to hire as yellow cabs.

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Sarah Matray

“It’s going to allow us to put a fleet of wheelchair-accessible vehicles on the road in Melbourne,” he said.

Mr Potter said the company also planned to have a significant number of female drivers and strict testing of drivers — despite the government ditching the knowledge test for cabbies — to show customers that his company had high standards. Drivers would also be able to rent the cars from London Transport at an affordable rate, he said, with cameras fitted at the back and front of the vehicles to help with insurance claims and costs.

Other companies are looking to get involved in the taxi industry to drive innovation.

Managing director of Oiii, Caroline Woodhouse, said it would offer operators a vehicle dispatch system that would help drivers “remain competitive with the advent of ride-sharing”.

“Without intervention from the government to promote regulatory reform, there is little the taxi industry can do to survive long-term,” she said.

“We are excited to launch to the market later this year in Victoria, moving nationally soon after.”

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