Drivers and operators

Taxi driver

If you are interested in becoming a taxi driver contact an Accredited Taxi Booking Service or the Taxi Council of South Australia to assist you with driver training and to provide information about your application. Training and other requirements may vary depending on whether you are interested in becoming a driver in metropolitan Adelaide or in a country area, or getting accredited for driving an Access Taxi.

For more information on becoming a taxi driver see Driver accreditation.

Chauffeur and special purpose driver or operator

Chauffeur and special purpose vehicles are an integral part of the passenger transport system, providing a personalised service to passengers wishing to book a car and a driver for a special event. Chauffeured vehicles may also be used for corporate bookings and private hire.

The Chauffeured Vehicle Association of South Australia represents the South Australian small passenger vehicle industry. If you would like to operate a chauffeur or special purpose service the Accreditation and Licensing Centre (ALC) can help with advice. You need to understand the requirements for accreditation before purchasing vehicles.

When submitting your Operator Accreditation application (358.9 KB PDF) you must submit a Plan of Operation (323.7 KB PDF) to help define the type of service you wish to provide. Based on that information, the ALC will be able to determine what category you would be accredited for and if you or others associated with your service need to apply for driver accreditation and a booking service accreditation.

Rideshare driver

Ridesharing was introduced in South Australia on 1 July 2016, allowing private vehicles to be used to provide a transport service, offered to passengers through an accredited booking service, generally through a smartphone application.

Any person who has a full South Australian driver’s licence, relevant police clearances and meets the minimum fitness requirements can apply to become a rideshare driver.

If you are interested in applying as a rideshare driver and you are the registered owner of the vehicle you will be using, you need both driver and operator accreditation and you will be responsible for your vehicle inspections, insurances and accreditation.

If you’re not the registered owner of the vehicle, for example, if you have arranged with a family member to use their car. The registered owner of the vehicle is the person legally responsible for its use as a passenger transport vehicle and is required to have operator accreditation, and must arrange vehicle insurances to cover the rideshare driver.

Large passenger vehicle drivers

A large passenger vehicle is any vehicle that has 13 seats or more. This may include chauffeured limousines with a seating capacity of 13 seats or more and all sizes of buses, including private tour buses or government contracted bus services providing a passenger service to the metropolitan area.

To apply for driver accreditation for a large passenger vehicle, you need to have held any class of Australian Drivers licence for a minimum period of six months.

Booking services

There are two types of booking service accreditation you can apply for:

• centralised booking service for taxis (141.6 KB PDF)
• transport booking services for rideshare and chauffeured vehicles (78.7 KB PDF).

DPTI must provide accreditation for you to operate a booking service.

Contact the Accreditation and Licensing Centre for information and assistance with applying for booking service accreditation.

Application forms

Driver accreditation

Operator accreditation

Booking services

Other forms