"I find it bizarre that they have suspended the registration of my car for something I was not aware of," the man said. Seven of the 40 vehicles suspended by the RMS did not belong to UberX drivers. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer "He said he only did it for a few hours a week. He's a university student." The man said he received notice of the three-month suspension of his vehicle registration only on Monday evening, two days before it came into force. "That is the most ridiculous thing. I only just managed to get a lawyer, but no lawyer can get onto this matter in a few hours," he said.

An RMS spokesperson said that seven of the suspended cars were not registered to an UberX driver. Signed up: Chief Minister Andrew Barr talks with future Uber drivers Gary Woodbridge and Teferi Gungl. Credit:Graham Tidy "The NSW government has made it clear ride-share services are illegal," the spokesperson said. "All registered vehicle owners are responsible for ensuring any drivers using their vehicle do so within the law." Taxi drivers protest against Uber at the NSW State Parliament in Sydney earlier this month. Credit:Daniel Munoz

The man said Uber was covering his and others' legal costs and had helped him postpone the suspension of his car registration for two weeks. Uber says it is "reviewing the legal option" but has promised to provide drivers with a rental car for three months if they can not overturn the suspensions. The app-based UberX platform is currently illegal under the Passenger Transport Act. But the suspension of the car registrations comes just weeks before a taskforce considering the possible regulation of Uber was due to hand down its findings. Opposition Leader Luke Foley said the state government was dragging its feet with a "bizarre, scattergun approach" to Uber.

"RMS suspending registrations for UberX drivers is just ridiculous: it's weakly sandbagging levies that have already broken," Mr Foley said. "The game is up: Uber is here to stay. Take a few dozen of their drivers off the road there'll be hundreds more stepping up to take their place." UberX drivers have been issued with fines, but the state government had to withdraw charges against 24 drivers earlier this year after what it called "evidentiary issues". The platform has faced growing hostility from the taxi industry, which says it is operating on an uneven playing field and its market is being cannibalised. The ACT government announced this week that would it became the first in Australia to regulate UberX, when new reforms take effect on October 30.

The government will also slash fees levied on taxi drivers and operators forced to compete with new ride-sharing services.

