The Victor Harbor Council is asking the State Minister for Transport to expand the service areas of rideshare operators (such as Uber) to include the Fleurieu.

A rideshare operator is a person with using a private vehicle to offer a transport service through an accredited booking system. 

The most well-known is Uber but others such as Lyft the female only service Shebah also operate in Adelaide.

At last month’s council meeting Councillor Nick Hayles moved a motion that council approach both the Minister and local MP, David Basham to raise the issue.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Bryan Littlely and carried unanimously.

Ride share operators have been allowed to officially operate within the Adelaide metropolitan area since July 1 2016.  

Transport Minister Corey Wingard recently announced that the rideshare service boundary would be expanded to include Mount Barker and the Adelaide Hills to boost transport services for locals and tourism.

Speaking on ABC Radio on Tuesday, Victor Harbor Mayor Moira Jenkins said residents all along the South Coast had been experiencing difficulties with accessing taxi services when they needed them, particularly on public holidays and during the busy holiday period.

“It is very difficult to get a taxi at times,” she said. 

“From what I’m hearing from the community taxis are not being able to meet the demand that there currently is down here."

In response, Chris Brougham, the Executive Chair of Des’s Cabs which is one of two taxi services operating in Victor Harbor, said COVID-19 has posed a challenge for the company, with some older drivers in their 60s and 70s deciding not to continue to work.

“The number of taxis is not the problem,” he said. “The number of drivers is the problem and how to recruit drivers and the whole process.”

He said it was difficult to recruit drivers because it could take up to three months to get accreditation and background checks and applicants often gained alternative work in the meantime.

“We’ve always had difficulty recruiting drivers, it’s just been worse since, really since COVID," he said.

“At the end of the day, if rideshare can pick up what we can’t do then I’m not going to complain about that.”

He said anyone looking for extra work was welcome to contact Des’s.

“We’ll find them a taxi,” he said. “Buying a car is the easy part; finding a driver is the hard part.”

In Australia Uber drivers are treated as sub-contractors however courts in the UK and the Netherlands have ruled that Uber drivers are employees and must be given minimum hourly rates, holiday pay and the equivalent of superannuation contributions.

Following the UK ruling in March, a group of NSW and Victorian Uber drivers launched legal action in the Federal Court to determine whether they can also be recognised as employees. A decision is still to be made.