Uber Cleared To Operate In VIC
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Victoria has become the latest Australian state or territory where ride-sharing service Uber can operate legally, after a Melbourne Uber driver won a landmark appeal.It joins NSW, South Australia and the ACT, where Uber

activities have already been cleared. Queensland and WA remain the major

holdouts.

Driver Nathan Brenner was found guilty last year by a Victorian magistrate on

two counts of operating a commercial passenger vehicle without a licence,

effectively outlawing Uber in the state. He was fined $900. But Victorian

County Court judge Geoffrey Chettle, hearing his appeal, on Wednesday dismissed

the charges and ordered the Taxi Services Commission to pay Brenner’s costs.

Opposition transport spokesman David Hodgett yesterday hailed the decision,

saying that the Victorian Government had wasted taxpayers’ money trying to

fight Uber instead of regulating the service to provide industry certainty.

“This is not about taxis versus Uber, but rather what ways we can get our

city moving in the most efficient way,” he said.