Uber and other ride-sharing services have stopped accepting fares in the Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills in response to "compliance activity" from the South Australian Government.

Key points: Uber has been allowed to operate in Adelaide since 2016

Uber has been allowed to operate in Adelaide since 2016 The service has been accepting fares in the Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills

The service has been accepting fares in the Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills The areas are now cut off from the app as Uber negotiates with the SA Government

State Transport Minister Stephan Knoll said that until yesterday, Uber had been "operating outside of the regulated map" of the Adelaide metropolitan area that they were allowed to under regulations introduced in 2017.

From today, the Uber app has been telling passengers in the Adelaide Hills east of Bridgewater and in the Barossa Valley that they are outside of the service's "active" area.

One Uber driver, Paul, told ABC Radio Adelaide he heard about it informally through other drivers yesterday.

He said today, as he drove towards Mount Barker from Mannum, there were no people looking for rides where they normally would.

"At this stage, we can take passengers back into those regions, but once we're in that region and want to come back, the Uber app isn't active at all," he said.

He said he switched to acting as a passenger on the app and it did not work until he got to Bridgewater.

A map on Uber's website shows McLaren Vale is within the area it operates, but not the eastern Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley or the Clare Valley, north of Adelaide.

It accepts services as far south as Sellicks Beach and as far north as Gawler.

Ola has also stopped accepting rides in the Adelaide Hills.

Department increases 'compliance activity'

The area Uber operates around Adelaide, according to its website. ( Uber )

Mr Knoll said no regulations had changed, but the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) had "notified" Uber about complying with the rules.

There had been a "lot of compliance activity" recently, he said.

"What I think has changed is the fact that Uber itself had opened up and relaxed their geofence and that meant that there were areas outside the regulated map where Uber could operate that they had been operating," he said.

The former Labor state government first allowed Uber to offer services in Adelaide in 2016, two years after it launched an unaccredited service in the city.

Mr Knoll said there had been discussions between his department and Uber about operating in country areas, including in the Barossa Valley, where he lives.

"I've actually been trying to work with Uber to open up to regional South Australia, and not just the areas mentioned, but much more broad than that," he said.

"We have put to them a method that we can get this done, and I'm keen to get this done, but again the ball is a little bit in Uber's court because the Government is ready and willing to open this up but we just need them to come on board."

An Uber spokesman said the company "currently only operates in metropolitan Adelaide".

"Uber is committed [to] unlocking opportunities within regional communities, with the most recent example being our efforts to connect NSW," he said.

The Adelaide Hills includes suburbs of Adelaide as well as more isolated towns. ( ABC News: Lauren Waldhuter )

Business group wants less restriction, not more

Mount Barker Business Group chairman Christopher Carpenter said ride-share services were lacking in the region and news that they were being restricted "sounded bizarre".

"There should be every effort and every advantage awarded to whoever it may be, whether it's a taxi service, Uber, Ola, or whatever," he said.

"The people of the Adelaide Hills most certainly need as much transport provided to them at an affordable and reasonable cost as possible."

He said it restricted people from socialising and impacted local business.

"Even if you're just living locally in Mount Barker, after a certain time, you've either got the local taxi service or you've got nothing," he said.

Not connected with on-demand buses

State Government-funded bus-on-demand services will begin operating in both the Barossa Valley and throughout Mount Barker from January 13.

Customers will be able to book, track, and pay for a bus utilising a phone app in the same manner as ride-sharing services, although some walking is expected for pick-ups from key locations.

Mr Knoll said there was "no correlation" between the compliance crackdown on Uber and the new bus services.

He said regular Adelaide Metro services were more likely to be affected, particularly around Mount Barker.

"The work that ride-share operators do is completely different from the work that we expect this on-demand bus route to take up," he said.