Koutsantonis flagged possible changes to current legislation after authorising taxis to lift passenger fares by six per cent – the industry’s first rise in six years.

The state government wanted to ensure the public had “a viable alternative to uber and a viable public transport system that people rely on” he told ABC radio today.

“This is a small step and we’re reviewing the Passenger Transport Act and there could be more changes.

“We want to make sure we protect rideshare and we protect taxis and make sure there’s a differential there – for example taxis have to do regular servicing, regular inspections, police inspections and have cameras.”

Koutsantonis said the taxi industry was among the state’s lowest-paid but was subject to rigorous standards.

“There’s a livery on a taxi, you can identify the taxi driver when you get in the car and we’re able to know that people who get in taxis by and large are regulated and safe – we don’t have that with rideshare,” he said.

“We are looking at safety measures for people who catch rideshare, especially who catch it late at night who might be vulnerable, we want to make sure we can identify the drivers and those vehicles.

“[Uber’s] price setting is done very very differently, when it’s not busy Uber is very cheap, when it’s very busy Uber have the ability to surcharge – so they can charge pretty extraordinary rates for fares.”

Taxis will lift their fares for the first time in six years, with the State Govt now looking at standards among rideshare operators. Picture: Jason Katsaras/InDaily

A government spokesman said the government made an election commitment to review regulation of the point to point transport industry under the Passenger Transport Act.

“The focus of the review is on improving the regulatory standards of all taxis and rideshare operators to help ensure South Australians can expect a safe, clean and reliable ride, regardless of what transport provider they choose,” the spokesman said.

“Various factors could be considered as part of this process, including emissions standards and vehicle identification. The review is ongoing.”

Uber’s website states that all potential driver-partners must complete a criminal background screening process before being approved to accept ride requests through the Uber app.

It also states that In order to drive on the Uber platform, every vehicle must pass an independent annual inspection to verify that it is safe to drive.

A spokesperson for Uber said the company has led the way for the industry with a number of features built into their technology to support the safety of riders.

“This includes features that have not always been possible in the taxi sector, such as GPS tracking every trip, upfront driver verification and upfront pricing,” the spokesperson said.