Transport NSW, the NSW Government authority for transport, has released a statement today which may see the end of Uber’s attempts to open up ridesharing taxi-like services to the general public.

The statement, which can be read here, is straightforward: the laws regarding commercialised public passenger services, outside of current regulations found in the Passenger Transport Act, have not changed.

“The law is clear and has not changed: if a NSW driver is taking paying members of the public as passengers, the driver and the vehicle must operate in accordance with the Passenger Transport Act,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said. “Under the Act, such services must be provided in a licensed taxi or hire car, by an appropriately accredited driver, authorised by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS). “The Act requires drivers to be fit and proper persons and vehicles to comply with specific standards to ensure an appropriate standard of safety for customers.

What does this mean?

Uber’s attempt to democratise taxi services by offering ridesharing looks dead in the water. While it wasn’t available to all users just yet, Uber had quietly been opening up its UberX service for anyone with a car.

Provided the driver was at least 24-years-old, had insurance, a licence, no criminal record, and owned a four-door car no older than a 2005 model – and had the Uber app – they could offer rides to the general public for a fee. Just like a taxi, but without the fairly detailed rules and regulations (and fees) needed to become licensed to do so.

This resulted in Sydney Morning Herald journalist Ben Grubb getting about Sydney in vans, Suzuki Swifts and a Toyota Rav4.

The NSW Government has been under pressure from the NSW Taxi Council, who were said to be ‘furious’.

“This has to be dealt with before it gets out of hand,” NSW Taxi Council chief executive Roy Wakelin-King told Fairfax.

“We have an organisation that is asking people to take on faith a [taxi or hire car] booking system that has no regulatory checks or balances.”

The real story is that an existing operation was being shaken-up by innovation, and while there are good reasons why taxi drivers require a police check before getting work, the NSW Government had two options: leave the status-quo, with a tight-fist over all drivers, and side with the Taxi Council. Or, open the system, allow innovation, and dramatically change how people can travel.

The stick being waved at people who have been offering Uber rides is a big one – with the statement noting: “A person who carries on a public passenger service in breach of the Act may face prosecution and fines of up to $110,000.”

That’s likely enough to kill off the service as it exists, although Uber’s existing premium service with hire car licensed drivers, popular with the young and rich, won’t change.

It is worth noting that UberX exists widely across the USA, including New York and San Francisco.

There’s another service likely to come under close scrutiny that offers a similar commercial service. Airbnb allows people to open their homes to travellers who need to stay somewhere; avoiding hotels, hostels and the like, and bunking down in spare room.

New York and San Francisco, under lobbying from existing industry groups, have attempted to ban the service, and should Airbnb gain significant traction, it’s likely that Governments in Australia will be pressured to make a decision on the legitimacy.

Already, Tourism Accommodation Australia has made noises about the same regulations being applied (such as fire alarms, fire exits, lighting, accessibility for disabled people) across Airbnb offerings as is required of short-stay operators.