To Armchair Critic in response to your questions and remarks..........

I speak with 41 years experience and involvement in the NSW taxi industry, around 15 years as a driver, 9 years as an owner driver and 18 years as a retired owner. During that time I also served several years on the board of management and the radio disputes committee. All these years were spent with one of the major co-operatives in Sydney. I retired from driving in 1997.

It is possible that Uber could fill a niche in the transport system, but more as a hire car type of service.

Many, many people have been sharing the expenses of a co-worker's car in getting to work. It's not illegal and never has been. BUT, if that car is involved in a serious accident then insurance coverage may not extend to covering everyone, especially if the co-worker driver is at fault. Insurance companies charge owners of taxis very large premiums that cover just about every contingency. I have not been so recently involved that I could provide a precise figure but would not be surprised if it was in the vicinity of $20k p.a. or even higher. The premiums always rose every year, especially when the state government issued new plates for tender.

The cost of making a taxi from a regular vehicle is also very large.
[1] Installation of conversion from liquid petroleum to LPG.
[2] " of camera and other security devices.
[3] " of meter.
[4] " of computer despatch and 2-way radio equipment with monthly fees in the hundreds of dollars. Cont......

......cont.
For optimum performance the taxi should be serviced and checked over around every two weeks which seriously cuts working hours. If you have a very good friend who is a very, very good mechanic he will save the owner a fortune. I was particularly lucky in having two of the best in Australia. Government regulations require an interior and exterior inspection at an inspection and registration facility that can be heavily time-consuming. Thus more time off the road.

Your "fair and reasonable competition" remark is far from fair. If Uber owners want to pay their share of the expenses of a taxi and provide the same services 24 hours a day 365 days of the year then they will find life to be a lot tougher than anticipated. They'd have to survive a mistake-free exam on getting from one place to another in the entire Sydney area, suffer the abuse of some irritated customers when they are forced to direct you. Deal in a calm manner with the sometimes drunk or potentially violent customer. Squeeze a meal somewhere into a 12 hour shift because you must not eat or smoke in a taxi. Treat "runners" as part of the job, because if you scare them they'll sue you and have your licence suspended.

How involved have you been in the taxi industry that you feel you can write with authority on it?

I feel certain that I have omitted some important factors in the taxi/uber debate. for that I apologise in advance. Separation from the industry by time and by geography, [I live in the Philippines now], I hope I may be corrected by a better qualified member of the taxi industry.

I must record here though that for 99.9% of the time I was proud to be a Sydney cabbie, am proud of and blessed by the good men and women who became my friends as a driver and an administrator. It can be a tough game for a beginner but I got a good grounding with my first owner, Ron and my drivers when I became an owner, Bill, Mick, Kevin, Joe and the fine Lebanese friend who lived close to me but whose name I can't recall. He was with me and certainly still is to all who know him, one of Nature's gentlemen.

It's a great job for those who want to work, who are conscientious enough to want to do a good job so that your co-op looks good and you feel the satisfaction of another job well done. I got paid back in spades for a job I loved doing.

It is impossible for bureaucrats once they start controlling something to stop, all the feel good crap they stick the taxis with means that the consumer get stuck with the most expensive taxi services in the world.

Now with Uber, they are going to be forced to allow normal safe motor cars to be used as taxis.

So there you go arm chair, NSW government looks set to register Uber and pay fair compensation to taxi licence holders, as i feel they should. At last a common sense approach from a government.

Pogi,

So what you're saying is that if I pop next door to my neighbours and they have a visitor whom I've never met and they offer me $20 to run them down the shops and back that I should be fined and considered a criminal for doing so.
Thats essentially what you're saying, is it not?

If Uber is so bad then why do I hear about Taxi drivers working as Uber drivers after their taxi shifts or on their days off?

Uber drivers own their own vehicle and probably take better care of them and use apps and GPS to replace meters and dispatch.

You mentioned LPG, you're business model probably wouldn't even be viable if you didn't use gas, and its probably part of regulations.
In your business model the driver, the operator and government (license issuer) all have their hand out.

Uber mostly keeps the money in the hands of the person actually doing the work.

The only issue I see at all is that Uber drivers may emit more emissions from non-LPG vehicles.

Uber drivers have reputation which means that I'm not likely to have one of your foreign (whoever you can get to keep the cash flowing) 'no speaka english' drivers take me the long way.

Also the driver himself is the owner and may give a better service because they are not just an employee.

Clearly in some ways it's a cheaper better more modern system.

I respect your involvement and knowledge in the taxi industry, yet this is not my concern in regards to my opinion on this issue.

I'm not an Uber driver.
But if someone else says I'm a criminal for accepting money for giving someone else a lift, then I say they are the criminal.
Whether I do it or not.