Uber legalisation in West Australia raises concerns over price surges and disability groups

The legalisation of the popular ride-sharing service, Uber, is widely regarded to be passed by the government of West Australia in 2016. However, despite increasing acceptance of it by passengers in the region, it still has to confront issues such as concerns from disability groups afriad of losing cab ride opportunities, as well as complaints from passengers unhappy with price surges or huge price hikes.

WA News reports that the legalisation of Uber in West Australia will be made possible by a proposed tax reform that would safely place new car owners applying for a Uber license to placed under an "omnibus" licence category. This new tax reform is intended to protect the passengers and traditional cab service, also known as the 'hail and ride' kind, which accounts for 50 percent of the market. It will reduce humungous fees, such as license plates that reach up to $13,000 a year, to hopefully $1,000. Reducing these fees is intended to spur the cab drivers into becoming more competiive, which would be beneficial to the typical car passenger.

These developments will reduce the tradtional cab service's resistance to the presence of Uber in West Australia; at the same time, Uber is expected to comply with the regional laws, instead of ignoring or fighting them, which has happened in other Uber franchises in many countries.

While some parties welcome the growth of jobs that Uber will bring to Western Australia, other sectors have voiced concerns about its other less positive effects. According to Perth Now, the government will not regulate Uber rates despite its "surge prices," or controversial practice of hiking up rates ten times more than the traditional meter fare. Western Australia Minister Dean Nalder maintains that regulation is unnecessary given Uber's transparency about the given increased rates which normally happen when the area covered by the trip will be farther and longer than the norm. The would-be passenger still has the choice to accept or reject the service given the increased rate.

Meanwhile, in a related story reported by The Age, people with disability in the region of Victoria have expressed their apprehensions that Uber legalisation might deprive them of a ride. The so-called wheelchair-friendly cabs might lose drivers who would prefer to work with the higher-paying Uber vehicles. This development recently took place in San Francisco, which saw wheelchair-friendly cabs reduced by 30 percent once Uber launched in the city.

Tags

West Australia, price surges, people with disability, cab drivers, cab passengers, Uber, ride-sharing

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