Uber Ride Sharing deemed illegal by NSW

[cove]

I doubt you will be in good shape insurance wise if you get into a crash using a Uber vehicle. Unofficial taxis/ limos would not carry proper passenger insurance.

 

[markis10]

I doubt you will be in good shape insurance wise if you get into a crash using a Uber vehicle. Unofficial taxis/ limos would not carry proper passenger insurance.

Agree, that private registration will be a problem and an easy get out clause for the insurer.

 

[cove]

Ok let's say I am a passenger and my Uber driver is a negligent driver who crashes. Who is going to pay my multi million claim for my injury recovery?

 

[PointyEnd]

Typical of the cosy relationships between big business and government all over the country at the moment.

I have been using minicabs in London for many years - they are now more regulated but it was a free-for-all for a long time. Used to be a bit of a lottery on the quality of the car and the driver but much cheaper than the Black cabs.

Ahhh, the good old mini-cabs... I don't know how many times I had to grab the London A-Z and navigate for the driver. I still remember a mini-cab Co. in Camden called 'Red Indian Cabs' with a picture of an Apache Indian in full headdress. Small motto underneath proclaimed 'Because we're not cowboys'.....

 

[Homer]

I doubt you will be in good shape insurance wise if you get into a crash using a Uber vehicle. Unofficial taxis/ limos would not carry proper passenger insurance.

Lyft has solved this in the US with included insurance for private vehicles. And they describe the payment a passenger makes to a driver as a "donation" or something like that, seemingly to get around the rules. I think Uber will push on with this despite the fist-shaking by Transport for NSW.

 

[alieninperth]

I'm not overly comfortable with this concept. Not only from an insurance perspective but from an overall safety perspective. Mini-cabs, taxis and limos are all licenced with the driver(s) checked and tested, understanding that there is some sharing of driver ids but not prolific. Who is testing and checking these uber drivers? Its not unheard of for licenced taxi drivers to take advantage of punters, what is to stop this from happening with Uber drivers?

 

[N860CR]

The insurance is the reason I haven't actually looked into this too much.

I live in a suburban beach area in Sydney near the airport, but with poor transport, so there would probably be a market for a car service around here. Additionally to that, I've been looking to setup a hire car company for a while so thought this might be a good way to test the waters and see if it works around my spare time (shift work does have its pluses).

I've been in communication with Uber, however they're very very vague when it comes to insurance. I use AirBNB quite a bit and they offer their own additional insurance for landlords so you're totally safe. I thought Uber might be the same… however it seems they are talking the "use your own comprehensive or third party insurance".

As mentioned above, if you use your "private" insurance policy for a "commercial" vehicle, the insurance company won't be able to wipe their hands of you fast enough. You'll be up for your car, the Lexus you smashed in to and be entirely liable for your passengers injuries etc. All for "up to $20" an hour… no thanks.