Safety and security of passengers is behind the London transport authority's move to de-register global rideshare operator Uber, but Canberra's regulator says it has not had the same issues reported here.
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The ACT was the first market in Australia to welcome Uber although the experience hasn't been trouble-free.
London's experience with the company has been far worse to the extent that the company has been stripped of its licence to carry passengers in the world's fifth-largest rideshare market. Uber intends to appeal the decision.
The company was described as having a "pattern of failures" on safety and security.
Unauthorised drivers were able to upload their photos to others' accounts so that, on over 14,000 trips, a driver other than the advertised one picked up passengers, Transport for London (TfL) said.
"TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not re-occur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time," a statement from the authority said.
Uber has been operating in the ACT since 2015, when ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr told the ACT Assembly "it would be crazy to think that you can put up barriers and regulatory rules that will stop this sort of [rideshare] activity from happening".
"You are better off working with these new businesses to ensure that the regulations that the community would expect - be that around public safety or minimum standards and the like - are there."
Licensed taxi drivers in Canberra have been under intense competitive pressure from rideshare services which don't require the same regulatory controls nor passenger safety requirements as taxis, including meters, openly displayed numbers and driver identification, and onboard cameras.
Some ACT taxi drivers also operate as part-time rideshare operators, which has led to local passenger confusion and uncertainty.
Legal firm Maurice Blackburn has confirmed that is waiting on judgement from a preliminary hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court regarding its class action against Uber.
A spokesperson for the ACT government said that Access Canberra "works closely with all rideshare platforms to ensure their drivers are accredited and compliant with their obligations".
