WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE

AN APPARENT attempt by a taxi driver to highlight concerns about the impact of UberX has turned into a spectacular own goal with the incident potentially driving more people away from cabs to the controversial ride sharing service.

Footage of the man, who appears to be a Melbourne taxi driver, confronting an UberX driver has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. In the disturbing video, the disgruntled taxi driver is seen threatening the terrified Uber driver with physical violence, attempting to vandalise the vehicle and throwing a full cup of coffee over the car’s interior.

Astoundingly, the video was not filmed by a concerned passer-by but by the taxi driver himself.

It’s not clear whether the driver thought the video, which appears to be genuine, would engender sympathy for the taxi industry. If he did, it might have been a miscalculation.

Debate surrounds the legality of the UberX ride-sharing service that enables people to pay for rides in private cars, bypassing taxis altogether.

The phone video was posted on the ‘Amritsar to Australia’ Facebook page and seems to have been filmed near Doreen in Melbourne’s north east.

In the footage the taxi driver, posing as a passenger, first confirms with the man driving the car that he is on an Uber job and then asks to be taken to a local police station.

The bemused driver agrees while the passenger states that Uber is illegal.

“Who says that? Show me the paper [work],” says the UberX driver.

“It’s in the court,” says the passenger

“So has a decision been made?” says the driver.

Suddenly, the already strained conversation takes a nasty turn with the passenger raising his fist at the driver and throwing obscenities.

“F**k you, you have no right,” he says.

Melboune taxi driver vs uber driver Posted by Amritsar to Australia on Friday, 6 November 2015

“I’m just working,” says the startled driver who has by now stopped the vehicle. “I drive taxis other days [but] today I didn’t have a taxi.”

The passenger is unrepentant. “If I punch you, you can’t do anything,” he says.

“I don’t want to fight,” replies the driver, desperately trying to calm the situation down.

The passenger goes on to say that Doreen “is ours” and accuses the driver of “taking our jobs.”

He then tries to vandalise the car’s rear view mirror and throws a full coffee over the front seat and leg well.

The belligerent passenger also accuses the driver of giving Indians a bad name.

“Next time you look [for jobs] in this area, I f**k your face,” he says.

The driver, who has now been threatened with violence several times, is so terrified he not only agrees to the passenger’s demands he also says he won’t work as a cabbie in the local area again.

“OK I won’t even do any normal work,” he says. “There is no more Uber for me.”

The video is another incident in the campaign by the taxi industry to encourage regulators to crack down on UberX.

In September, the ACT announced it planned to become the first capital city to legalise ride-sharing.

Under a plan to level the playing field between the competing services, taxis will have their fees reduced while ride-sharing vehicle and drivers will have to be accredited and registered with particular attention paid to criminal records, driving histories and five-year health assessments.

However, the taxi industry is continuing to fight UberX with an advertising campaign launched earlier this month stating ride sharing is less safe than using a traditional cab.