The decision has kept the Taxi Commission Services case alive, in its attempt to prosecute Uber for operating a share-riding service without commercial licences. On Friday, Mr Ayres said he did not accept defence lawyer Peter Haag's​ argument that Mr Brenner did not have a case to answer. Mr Haag had argued Taxi Services Commission officer David Morris had acted unlawfully in the way he obtained evidence, the manner in which he arrested Mr Brenner and that his actions may have led Mr Brenner to behave in a way he would not have otherwise done. Mr Ayres rejected those arguments. Mr Brenner was not in court for the decision.

An Uber spokeswoman told Fairfax Media after the decision: "We are disappointed that the case against Mr Brenner was not dismissed today. We will continue to support him as the case continues." The spokeswoman said that decisions on Uber should be made by the government, not the courts. "[The] government needs to quickly create a regulatory framework for ride-sharing rather than wasting further taxpayer money targeting everyday Victorians through the courts." The taxi industry has complained that Uber undercuts them in price because they are not complying with regulations and expensive licences. Liza McDonald, a former director of the Taxi Services Commission, said the taxi industry may see Friday's decision as a win, however she added "there's a long way to go. This isn't over."

The case has been delayed by several adjournments and legal arguments over the validity of the investigation, the wording of the charges, and an incident in which the Taxi Services Commission laid further charges against Mr Brenner during a court appearance. Uber has refused to obtain hire car licences for its drivers' vehicles, which can cost $40,000 each. Earlier this month, Uber made a submission to the state government asking for its ride-sharing drivers to be included under state law under a new subclass "special purpose vehicles". Mr Brenner is considered a test case; ten other drivers face similar charges after an undercover sting by the commission caught the unsuspecting drivers between May 28 and August 27 last year in Melbourne's CBD, Southbank and Geelong. Just hours before Mr Ayres made his decision, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised the ride-sharing company for being part of the "agile" economy he envisages for Australia's future. This is despite the multinational lodging income accounts that show it is using the same financial structure of fellow multinationals operating in Australia where the local entity is saddled with large, profit-erasing loans originating from tax havens like the Netherlands.