The boss of Uber Australia has taken a swipe at the Queensland government for spruiking safety as its top priority while not bothering to learn about the company's safety procedures.
David Rohrsheim said the company had discovered through freedom of information requests that Queensland transport department staff had been "boasting" to the government about spending 6000 hours on "enforcement activities", such as fining Uber drivers.
"But no one in that department has found one hour to come down to the Uber office and say what are your safety procedures," Mr Rohrsheim said in Brisbane on Tuesday.
"If safety was their top priority, why hasn't that meeting happened?"
The arrival of Uber in Australia has fuelled tensions with the taxi industry, with cabbies arguing Uber rides are unsafe and unregulated.
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The debate boiled over last week when two Uber drivers were allegedly assaulted by a group of men that included taxi drivers Sukhcharan Singh Bal, 26, and Jaskirat Singh, 29. The two were charged over the incident.
Mr Rohrsheim rubbished the taxi industry's claims about safety as "fear-driven arguments about new technology", saying it was the same script used when motorised vehicles took over from horse-drawn carts.
"The good news is, people aren't buying it," he said, saying one million Australians use the app.
Mr Rohrsheim said the company represents a "litmus test" for any new government.
"We are new, we are difficult, we are work for a new government," he said.
The ACT flagged its intention last week to regulate Uber by the end of the month.
But an independent review of Queensland's taxi plan, which includes limousines and ride-sharing services, is not due until August next year.
"That has entrenched Queensland in last place," Mr Rohrsheim said.
