Taxi drivers and their Uber rivals have complained they will be driven out of business by the Western Australian government's reforms that seek to deal with the ride-sharing service.
The arrival of Uber's technology in WA in late 2014 has greatly disrupted the 2400-strong taxi industry with large numbers of customers, particularly younger people on weekends, able to order cars via mobile apps for far smaller fees.
The government has formally acknowledging Uber's existence for the first time, with its drivers now required to pay greater fees and undergo more stringent police and medical checks.
Taxi drivers, who have been undercut by Uber because of the few regulations and fees it faces, will receive far less compensation than hoped for but can apply for hardship or transition funding to adapt to the new transport environment.
AAP spoke to taxi drivers who say Transport Minister Dean Nalder's new laws won't change the fact many will exit the job. They now struggle to earn a living and the weekend nights that used to be their most profitable periods are now their worst.
The reason: young people out on Friday and Saturday nights are the most likely to order Uber drivers on their phones.
Drivers will get $20,000 compensation per taxi plate.
But that is considered a pittance, given plates are currently valued at $220,000 and some drivers, such as George Gedeon who AAP spoke to, paid $317,000 during the mining boom and still owes the bank much of that.
"Three years ago we would make $600 to $700 on a 12 hour weekend shift (before about $150 in expenses)," driver Dalibor Stankovic told AAP.
"Now guys are struggling to make $150 (to break even).
"So we all go to the airport now on a Friday or Saturday night and wait for a fare."
But Uber's WA general manager Tom White said it was a dark day for the service's 5000 drivers, many of whom did it as part-time jobs, who should not be imposed with an approximate doubling in fees to $800.
Taxi drivers responded with disbelief, given taxi plates currently cost 275 times that.
Mr Nalder said the reforms balanced protecting taxi drivers so they could make a living and can better compete with Uber with the need to move with the times and accept the new technology was here to stay.
