American car-booking firm Uber's most controversial offering is launching in Perth.
Uber X connects passengers via smartphone with taxi-like services provided by regular drivers, undercutting regular taxis by up to 30 per cent.
The service, to launch on Thursday afternoon, has caused regulatory headaches in eastern cities where it has already launched.
Several drivers in NSW and Victoria have reportedly faced fines for operating outside of local transport regulations.
Critics in the taxi industry say the service endangers passengers because drivers are less credentialled and their cars not held to the same safety standards as regular taxis.
Uber drivers must be fully licensed, comprehensively insured, and free of a criminal record.
Their cars must be made after 2005 with at least four doors.
WA manager Simon Rossi said Google-backed Uber had been working with Transport Minister Dean Nalder to boost the safety standards of Perth Uber X drivers.
This includes mandating that they first obtain a bus or charter vehicle extension to their licence - known as an F-Extension.
To qualify, drivers must have held their licence for at least four years and be "a person of good character".
They must also provide two referees and pass a medical assessment.
"Safety is of paramount importance to us," Mr Rossi said.
"We've been working with the department and we meet the requirements needed for a driver."
Mr Nalder declined to endorse Uber X and denied that he or the government had worked with Uber in support of the service.
He said he had done nothing more than advise Uber on the legal obligations of any passenger-carrying business in Western Australia.
He welcomed the company's move to credential drivers, but said the Uber X vehicles lack the commercial licences required by law.
"I cannot endorse the Uber X service to be operated in WA in its current form because it is not a legal service."
Mr Rossi said discussions with the government were ongoing.
