NSW government confirms it raided the offices of ride-share company Uber

The NSW government has confirmed it raided the offices of Uber, the organisation behind the increasingly popular ride-sharing service UberX.

The search of Uber's offices occurred in April, about the same time the company launched the UberX ride-sharing service.

The state government has confirmed it raided Uber offices in April.Credit: Bloomberg

UberX has emerged since as a rapidly growing element of Sydney's transport network.

A report by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) this month said ride-sharing services had been used by about 11 per cent of Sydney's population in the months since April, despite the government's insistence UberX is illegal.

A spokeswoman for Transport for NSW said: "Roads and Maritime Services executed a search warrant to Uber in April.

"Information may inform legal briefings, therefore no further comment can be provided at this time.

"Transport authorities are continuing enforcement activities and have issued 10 court attendance notices to drivers who had been providing services to UberX in Sydney."

Asked if this statement meant government officials raided the Uber offices, the spokeswoman said: "Yes, Roads and Maritime Services executed the search warrant at Uber's Sydney offices."

A spokeswoman for Uber would not comment on the search, other than to say that RMS has said that Uber does not break the law.

(While Uber does not break the Passenger Transport Act by facilitating ride-sharing, drivers offering the service do).

It is understood that after RMS raided the Uber offices, a person claiming to be a compliance officer for Transport for NSW visited the homes of UberX drivers, telling them the service was illegal. Transport for NSW would not comment on this, nor on why this practice appears to have stopped.

The IPART report recommended that the government charge a regulator with monitoring new entrants to the transport industry.

The report, which surveyed UberX users, found that they were attracted to the service by the price – rides with UberX tend to be significantly cheaper than cab fares.

Asked about the government's approach to UberX in the wake of the IPART report, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said: "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, and if they break the law the state will come down on them.

"They have to respect the law as it is but there's no doubt you can't ignore what customers want, and you can't ignore also the safety requirements that need to be in place.

"For me the overwhelming motivation when looking at this issue is customer safety and standards."

Uber's spokeswoman said the company was waiting for the minister's overdue consultation and was confident she would make her decisions based on what was best for the people of NSW, and not incumbent industries seeking to protect their monopoly.