It is the first time the city’s taxi service has addressed the issue in the face of the rising tide of the “sharing economy” – a place where commuters break with tradition, speak with their wallets and invest trust in a private unregulated driver.    

On Thursday, NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley announced he plans to introduce a bill to regulate the service, saying it has the potential to “dramatically ease congestion on NSW roads”.

Uber – which is backed by technology giant Google – refused to rule out coming to Wagga and said it plans to “be everywhere” in Australia.

It’s comments like these that send shivers down the spine of Wagga taxi driver Joseph Smith.

Mr Smith fears for the city’s entire industry and admitted “our only hope” is spelling out the potential dangers of getting into a car with an untested driver.

“My advice to the people of Wagga is: avoid Uber like the plague. It is literally going to kill the industry in Wagga if it came here,” he said.

“It’s not fair.”

Taxi drivers are subject to a raft of regulations aimed at quality-assurance and maintaining the safety of both parties.

Uber is not currently subject to the same regulations - and the government fines Uber drivers accordingly.

Wagga Radio Cabs spokesman John Patton has treated the announcement of the “Uber bill” with a degree of skepticism.

“There are just no rules with Uber,” he said.

“If they are going to make it another public transport option, they need the same conditions.

“At the moment they can charge whatever they like, their cars are not checked and they don’t have to go through education and security checks.

“They get fined and Google just pays it for them.

“It’s not a level playing field.”

Wagga MP Daryl Maguire said Parliament was unlikely to pass the Opposition Leader’s bill.

Mr Maguire conceded it was “unfair” the service could continue to operate unregulated and said he shared the concerns of the city’s taxi drivers.