Disability groups have raised concerns about the bill in its current form, flagging existing issues with the current taxi system.
Alex Holland from Youth Disability Services said the Government needed to consider the impact regulating Uber could have on people with disabilities because they already face a number of problems when trying to access taxis.
“It’s not good enough, it’s not meeting our needs, I get stranded frequently and I struggle to get to university,” she said.
“The issue is, if Uber is brought into the market without properly considering the effects on the disabled community the situation is going to get much worse.”
Others said if the legislation was introduced and it was not done properly it would be difficult to reverse.
“This is something that can’t be fixed later on, it needs to be fixed now in accordance with the legislative requirements, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act,” Disabled Motorists Australia’s Emilio Savle said.
“With respect to that, people with disabilities have a right to ride in any public transport vehicle as we see it whether that be a taxi, a bus, train, or whatever.”
Ms Patten said without regulating the industry it was difficult to ensure people with a disability were not discriminated against.
“The discrimination legislation that requires companies to provide disability access will apply to Uber once it’s regulated, while ride sharing is unregulated we can’t impose discrimination legislation,” she said.
