This article is sourced from smh.com.au
Controversial US ride-sharing app Uber is stepping up its fight with
the Victorian taxi industry with a campaign urging its own customers to
lobby state government MPs ahead of a key forum on taxi reform.
The company emailed customers on Friday urging them to "educate" their local MPs "on
the positive influence that uberX is having on hundreds of thousands of
lives across Victoria". It also encouraged them to spread the message
on social media sites such as Twitter, using the hashtag #ChooseUberVIC.
The
campaign comes ahead of the inaugural meeting of the Taxi and Hire Car
Ministerial Forum on April 27, announced by Victorian Transport Minister
Jacinta Allan as a key process in the state's ongoing taxi industry reforms.
The
forum will allow competing interest groups including Uber, taxi
industry lobby groups and Victoria Police to put forward their views.
Industry groups are at loggerheads with Uber over the legality of
its uberX service, with Uber refusing to pay $40,000 for hire car
licenses for its drivers, who use their own cars to ferry customers. The
groups also argue the Taxi Services Commission's failure to regulate
uberX puts passenger safety at risk and degrades service quality.
Uber Melbourne managing
director Simon Rossi said the TSC accredited its drivers and
was running criminal history and driver history checks "the same as any
other hire car or taxi driver in the state".
However 11 uberX drivers
are due to have an adjourned case heard in the Victorian Magistrates
Court on July 14, facing fines of up to $7500 each for operating a
commercial passenger vehicle without a licence.
TSC chairman Graeme Samuel has previously said attempts to penalise Uber were pointless because of its popularity.
But the Victorian Taxi Association questioned Uber's popularity on Friday.
"I
think we need to be careful about accepting the rhetoric of Uber in
terms of the level of support they have in the community," VTA
spokesperson Georgia Nicholls said.
"They
have the luxury of having zero transparency to the regulator or any
other body other than themselves as to the number of customers they
have, the number of vehicles they have and the number of trips they're
doing."
The Victorian government has yet to indicate its position on reform to ease the tensions. Minister Allan said the future of ride-sharing in Victoria would be considered by the upcoming forum.
Federal treasurer Joe Hockey
said this week that governments should "resist protecting industries"
and "should not encumber" new, disruptive players like Uber "because flexible and adaptive economies help create new businesses and jobs".
"Government must remove the entry barriers for new start-ups," Mr Hockey said.
Uber has a history of currying favour with the public with savvy PR tactics.
In February, it delivered homeless kittens to offices across Australia in partnership with animal shelters.
The
stunt attracted criticism from animal rights groups but drew strong
media coverage on the same day a test case against the 11
charged uberX drivers was heard in Victoria.
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