‘Civil disobedience’ in Western Australia
Uber acknowledges that it is ‘not respecting [a] law’ in WA that requires small charter vehicle (SCVs) drivers to charge a minimum $60 fare. The company’s Asia-Pacific managing director Mike Brown says the company is an intermediary like eBay connecting people to a service, and describes how it sees the disregarding of the transport regulation:
Civil disobedience.
State Transport Minister Dean Nalder says the department tried to work with Uber but the company has decided to go it alone:
I can see the positives of the app, but there is a huge marketing effort behind the company, it’s a little bit overrated and can be easily replicated.
He warns Uber drivers — known as ‘partners’ — that they can be fined $2,000 and stripped of their driver’s licence if they don’t obey the minimum fare rule.