By Jacob Saulwick
Drivers for the fast-growing ride-share service UberX are increasingly being hauled through the courts in NSW, where they could face fines up to $110,000 per offence.
Transport for NSW has confirmed 20 UberX drivers are facing prosecution, after being issued with 77 court attendance notices for breaches of the Passenger Transport Act.
Uber is growing in popularity.Credit: Adam Berry
The enforcement action is occurring as Uber attempts to inject itself into the NSW election campaign, emailing customers on Monday asking them to tell politicians how much they like Uber.
"Let your local candidates know what you love about Uber, and tell them that it's time to introduce sensible ridesharing regulations," Uber says in its email.
Uber operates a number of services in NSW but the fastest-growing, and most controversial, is the UberX platform. UberX allows passengers to book lifts with regular drivers, who use their own cars.
This practice is prohibited in NSW under the terms of the Passenger Transport Act, which requires that taxi and hire car services be run through licensed operators.
But Uber is attempting to lodge a foothold regardless, promoting the potential employment benefits of UberX and emphasising its appeal to customers.
Uber has told drivers who are fined that it will cover their penalties.
"We don't believe anyone should be penalised for providing safe, reliable rides in their cities and, as always, we stand by our partners fully," an Uber spokeswoman said in an email on Monday.
But the fines could run into the millions.
A spokeswoman for Transport for NSW said in an email on Monday: "There are different maximum potential fines depending on the charges laid under Passenger Transport Act."
"Maximum fines are $11,000 for driving without a driver's authority, and $110,000 for operating an unaccredited service and for using a vehicle which is not licensed as a public passenger vehicle."
According to the state's pricing regulator, about 11 per cent of Sydney residents had used UberX in the second half of last year. The growth of Uber was weakening demand for traditional taxi services and the price of a taxi licence, which dropped to its lowest level in six years late last year, has continued to slip in 2015.
In response, the Independent, Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has called on the government to ask an independent body to make recommendations about the future regulation of ride-sharing services as well as taxi services.
The Baird government has not yet responded to that proposal, though Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said in November: "There's no doubt we are also watching what's happening in other jurisdictions, both in Australia and overseas.
"But I want to say in the interim that the law is the law, and people have to respect the law."
Asked about the prosecutions of UberX drivers, Roy Wakelin-King, the chief executive officer of the NSW Taxi Council, said: "We welcome the NSW government upholding the law.
"The law is there for people to comply with and when there's non-compliance we would expect the law to be upheld," Mr Wakelin-King said.
Uber's spokeswoman said: "A significant amount of time and taxpayer money seems to have been spent by the government on appeasing the taxi industry by chasing UberX driver-partners to take them to court rather than listening to these hundreds of thousands of riders who have chosen Uber to get around.
"The next state government will be the one that decides whether to protect the taxi industry from new innovation, or to put in place sensible, safety-based ridesharing regulations that reflect the wishes of consumers."
Labor's transport spokeswoman, Penny Sharpe, has been contacted for her party's position on UberX.