Transport Minister Simon Bridges has said that banning the ride-sharing platform Uber is one option if the company continues to flout New Zealand laws.
Uber changed its driver vetting process in April, so its drivers are no longer required to hold an NZTA Passenger endorsement. This meant some Uber drivers were now acting illegally by carrying passengers.
Official Passenger endorsements involve police and medical checks to ensure a driver can safely carry customers, car safety checks, and time-logging requirements to monitor how many hours a driver is working in an attempt to reduce the danger of driver fatigue.
The new Uber certification requires none of this.
An Uber spokesman described its vetting system as cheaper and more affordable than the official regime.
The company said New Zealand's licensing requirements cost local drivers more than $2000 and took up to three months to complete. Its own vetting system cost just $20 and took six days.
Uber has said it wants to work with the Government to develop a regulatory system which was less onerous for drivers.
Uber drivers who do engage in business without the proper endorsement face fines of up to $800.
Stuff.co.nz reported that Uber's current operating model means NZTA "cannot give any assurance that the driver is medically fit and has been properly vetted for criminal convictions and other issues," according to acting manager Leigh Mitchell.
"We are proactively contacting individuals where we have information to indicate they are considering taking on work as Uber drivers, in order to ensure that they understand the legal requirements of providing passenger services in New Zealand, and the consequences of operating illegally.
"We have now written to more than 1,900 individual drivers, and we will continue to do so going forward," Mitchell said.
While the transport agency has "no interest in standing in the way of innovation" it also has an obligation to "ensure that people carrying passengers for a living have been properly vetted for criminal convictions," he said.
While Uber’s new rules meant that drivers did not have to possess official endorsements, many Uber drivers do have these endorsements, either from before April 2016, or because they individually elected to undergo the process.