A letter to Premier Barnett

Dear Premier Barnett,

We are some of the 5,000 Western Australians currently earning a flexible income by driving on the Uber platform and providing safe. reliable and affordable rides for the people of Perth.

We come from all over the city, many of us are from areas of high unemployment, and we work hard to support ourselves and our families.

You have a once in a generation chance to revolutionise how people move around Perth, and open up economic opportunity to thousands of people like us through ridesharing.

Keeping costs low and ensuring application times are quick and straightforward is the only way to ensure the current reforms open up competition and innovation, and really make a difference to everyday Western Australians.

The states that have regulated ridesharing to date have done so in progressive ways. In NSW, it only costs $45 to get a driver accreditation and hit the road. In the ACT this cost has been put at $100. Both have stringent safety checks in place and it still only takes a matter of days for people to get on the road.

In WA that cost is currently over $300 and it takes more than four weeks to get on the road. For many of us, it was a challenge to wait that long and pay that much to access flexible work.

You have the chance to change this, bring costs down and open up the state for more competition as part of your transport industry reform process. You have the chance to lead.

We trust you will seize this opportunity and that you will support our right to access flexible work to support our families.

From the thousands of Perth ridesharing drivers who chose to sign this letter.
You can find the full list of signatures at t.uber.com/perthpartners