Canberra's peak body representing taxi drivers has slammed the NSW government's compensation plan for cab owners as an insult after ride sharing app Uber was given the green light to operate in the state.
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The NSW government legalised ride sharing from midnight on Thursday and put in place a compensation package, which includes payments of $20,000 to owners of taxi licence plates in perpetuity.
The one-off payment will be capped at a maximum of $40,000 for owners of multiple plates.
Ride-sharing services such as UberX began operating in Canberra in October under new government regulation after the ACT became the first jurisdiction to offer legal ride-sharing services and promised not to fine drivers or passengers.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the $250 million industry adjustment package recognised people who had invested their life savings in taxi licence plates.
The transfer value of a NSW taxi licence crashed by almost a quarter in the past month to $228,500, amid growing speculation that the government was about to legalise UberX.
But Canberra Taxi Industry Association chairman John McKeough said the payments offered in NSW were an insult and any moves from the ACT government to similarly compensate territory cab owners would be "disgusting".
"The NSW government once sold plates over the counter for the equivalent of $400,000 and now they're saying to owners, 'Here, you can have $20,000'.
"Hundreds of owners have retired on that and now their asset is worth nothing and the government has legalised a foreign company to come in that pays no tax and welcomed it as giving more choice for consumers."
Mr McKeough said the NSW government's decision meant Uber drivers in the ACT could now legally transport passengers to nearby parts of NSW such as Queanbeyan.
"The work between Queanbeyan and Canberra, it's there but it's not going to make a huge difference. Whatever Uber might get from doing there will be minimal."
NSW Taxi Council chief executive Roy Wakelin-King said the organisation would look closely at the funding package to ensure it was adequate compensation for the financial loss licence owners faced.
"Clearly this is profound reform and the change will have a big impact on our industry. We need to make sure we work through the detail and make sure it's implemented properly."
Mr Wakelin-King said the new regulations would have different impacts on rural and regional areas compared with metropolitan areas and said cross-border jurisdictions would need to work together to navigate the changes.
"We will certainly work closely with our colleagues in the ACT taxi industry and will continue to provide good service to the people of Queanbeyan and Canberra."
A spokesman for Uber said only partners with an ACT ride sharing licence and registration could currently ride share in the territory.
"We know hundreds of people from NSW want to access a flexible income by sharing rides in Canberra.
"We look forward to working with the ACT and NSW governments as soon as possible to request the same cross border recognition as other parts of the industry."
Uber's Australian general manager David Rohrsheim welcomed the NSW government's announcement and said it recognised residents' rights to choose how they travelled and to access flexible work.
"We applaud the government's leadership in listening to the people of NSW and embracing the future."
Under the ACT regulations, existing government fees and charges were lowered, including a $10,000 reduction in the annual lease fees for government-owned taxi licences and annual hire car licence lease fees dropping from $4600 to $100.
Mr McKeough said cab owners were considering their options as further changes to Canberra's transport options were planned in a second tranche of legislation to be considered by the Legislative Assembly.
"They've said they will review in two years' time and we're not happy with the uncertainty of that," he said.
