The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will be the first government to regulate and legalise ride sharing with the online transport business Uber, which will start operations from October 30.
The Government will roll out laws likely to be copied by other Australian jurisdictions where unregulated Uber is starting to eat into the customer base of traditional taxis.
Ride sharing in Canberra market will be accompanied by reduced taxi fees and allow car owners to compete with newcomers.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Canberra was the first national capital in the world to legalise ride sharing and become Uber-friendly before the service had started there.