Hundreds of taxi drivers vented their anger at the growth of illegal ride sharing to Macquarie Street on Thursday, vowing further protests if their concerns about UberX are not addressed.

The rally, coinciding with similar events in Brisbane and Melbourne, reduced traffic outside parliament to a crawl as protesters spent almost two hours expressing their frustration at the unregulated business they said was destroying their industry and livelihoods.

"Every bloke and his dog is getting into his car and working for UberX on the weekend," said one driver, Jesse, who said he is now now forced to work so much he barely sees his kids.

Driving along Phillip Street recently - "that's not far from [Premier Mike] Baird's office" - Jesse said he saw dozens of would-be passengers clearly waiting for UberX cars "and I'm cruising by them, vacant".