Cabbies oppose Hi Oscar arrival

HOME-GROWN Uber rival Hi Oscar will this week become the first ride-sharing company to get the green light to operate in the Northern Territory.

The Perth start-up will get final approvals in the next few days. It’s expected the company will begin operations in early 2018 — just missing out on the Territory Government’s self-imposed deadline of New Year’s Eve.

Hi Oscar operates a similar model to ride sharing giant Uber, but allows passengers to choose specific drivers and for female passengers to request a female driver.

Darwin taxi driver Shane Nouwens, who was a member of the Government’s ride-sharing steering committee, said Hi Oscar’s arrival would be bad for cabbies and for passengers.

“With 153 taxis on the road, we’re well overservicing the market as it is,” he said.

Most cabbies were now taking home just $100 from a 12hour shift, he said.

“Any sort of pressure on that sort of return is going to really impact drivers,” he said.

With the wet season months already historically lean months for cabbies even without the added pressure from ride sharing, Mr Nouwens said some cabbies were already preparing to leave the industry.

He said he feared the safety of both ride-sharing drivers and passengers would be at

“We’re well overservicing the market as it is”

risk without a requirement to install CCTV cameras.

Passengers with disabilities would also be worse off as wheelchair-equipped taxis would be the first to succumb to pressure from ride sharing, Mr Nouwens said.

“We’ve spent years trying to get those vehicles on the road and now we’re going to make them unviable,” he said.

Under changes due to come into effect as soon as a ridesharing company starts operation, taxi licence fees will be slashed from $20,240 to $5000 in Darwin and $16,445 to $4000 in Alice Springs.

But Mr Nouwens said that wouldn’t make up the shortfall.

Hi Oscar co-founder Daniel Broughton last month told the NT News the company had received keen interest from drivers, including a number of Top End cabbies who wanted to moonlight for the service.

Mr Broughton was unable to comment yesterday.

A Government spokeswoman said the regulations would require drivers to undergo criminal history, medical and driver theory checks.