ROGUE Uber drivers are ignoring airport pick-up bans and avoiding Tullamarine taxes while clogging up the one-minute parking bays there.

The illegal drivers for the popular ride-sharing service are also doing airport runs and other jobs off the books, often undercutting licensed cabs as they do so, and handing their cards to customers to make money on the side, the Sunday Herald Sun can reveal.

It comes as an Uber driver will face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next month in a test case that could set a legal ruling to outlaw the business.

UberX users are banned on the app from setting their pick-up location as Melbourne airport with only the more expensive UberBlack chauffeur service available.

But UberX drivers have found a loophole, telling passengers to set their location outside the terminal on the app’s map, and phone the driver when they are ready.

“You just move the pin to set your location to a few minutes away as it’s blocked at the airport,’’ one driver said.

A search on Gumtree also revealed other unregulated drivers making a quick buck by advertising chauffeur services and airport transfers.

Uber drivers are avoiding the airport’s $2.70 levy that taxis are forced to pass on to passengers, bypassing cabbies stuck in a waiting yard and heading straight to the terminals for pre-booked fares.

Taxi Services Commission tsar Graeme Samuel said Uber was proving impossible to stop.

“In one sense, what Uber is demonstrating is how hard it is to stop someone using digital technology,” Mr Samuel said.

“I have empathy for those (taxi drivers) facing challenges but I just don’t think you can ban people using apps.”

In an emailed statement, Uber spokeswoman Katie Curran blamed “outdated rules’’ at Melbourne airport which favour the “incumbent industry’’. But she would not elaborate on the rules, nor would she return phone calls, requesting questions by email only.

But Melbourne airport spokeswoman Carly Dixon said the airport did not regulate Uber and had not made any rules to block its cars.

A Sunday Herald Sun investigation found a trip from Tullamarine to North Melbourne cost $21 less in a UberX compared to a taxi last week.

We did a cost and time comparison for four Melbourne journeys including airport routes. Taxis were twice the cheaper option.

Victorian Taxi Association spokeswoman Georgia Nicholls said: “All that Victorian taxi businesses seek is a level playing field. Meaningful penalties must be introduced and enforced against those who openly choose to flout the law and endanger public safety.

South Australia has banned UberX. Victoria’s Transport Minister Jacinta Allan has sought advice from the taxi regulator about the company.

Passengers use a mobile phone app to order an UberX car and drivers use their own vehicles to ferry passengers.

Passengers receive a fare estimate upon booking and no cash changes hands with the price deducted from the credit card hooked up to the account.

Unlike taxi drivers, they are not required to buy expensive “taxi plates” or pass strict knowledge tests. The Taxi Service Commission has fined 80 illegal cabbies but Uber has paid all infringements.

Backed by giants such as Google, the ride-sharing service runs in 50 countries and across 250 cities.

Uber has defended its practice and says each car is roadworthy, insured and drivers pass criminal checks.

TAXI/ UBER ROUTES

Trip 1

Melbourne Exhibition Centre > Fairfield

UBER:

Waiting Time: 14 minutes

Time to Destination: 33 Minutes

Cost of journey: $26

Rating: 4/5.

Chanel Kinniburgh: ``He was a new driver, and the car was clean.’’

TAXI:

Waiting Time: 41 Minutes

Time to Destination: 23 Minutes

Cost of journey: $24.40

Rating: 3.5/5

Phillippa Butt: ``I felt that we were close to having an accident a few times’’.

Trip 2:

Fairfield > Melbourne Airport (Qantas Domestic Terminal) — Peak Hour Traffic

UBER:

Waiting Time: 9 Minutes

Time to Destination: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Cost of journey: $56

Rating: 5/5

Chanel: “The driver was friendly and knowledgeable, and offered to charge my phone and avoid tolls.’’

TAXI:

Waiting Time: 7 Minutes

Time to Destination: 46 Minutes

Cost of journey: $63.70

Rating: 3.5/5

Phillippa: ``A mostly clean cab and friendly driver, but heavy on the brakes and jerky.’’

Trip 3:

Melbourne Airport > North Melbourne

UBER:

Waiting Time: 23 Minutes

Time to Destination: 18 Minutes

Cost of journey: $32 (the fare didn’t start until outside the airport)

Rating: 4.5/5

Chanel: ``The driver was extremely friendly, the car was clean, and he asked if I was comfortable a number of times.’’

TAXI:

Waiting Time: 1 Minute

Time to Destination: 18 Minutes

Cost of journey: $53

Rating: 4/5

Phillippa: “Talkative and happily changed direction at my request, but hit the brakes a bit hard.”

Trip 4:

North Melbourne > 40 City Road, Southbank

UBER:

Waiting Time: 6 Minutes

Time to Destination: 10 Minutes (9.38km Journey)

Cost of journey: $23.00 (Tolls)

Rating: 4/5

Chanel: “He didn’t offer a no toll route but very friendly and considerate.”

TAXI:

Waiting Time: 7 Minutes

Time to Destination: 13 Minutes

Cost of journey: $18.40 (No tolls)

4.5/5

Phillippa: “There was a iPad with the news on the back of the seat and the driver was chatty.”

elissa.doherty@news.com.au