Nationals member for Northern Victoria Luke O’Sullivan questioned public transport minister and local MP Jacinta Allan in parliament about the impact the site was having on taxi drivers in Bendigo, and whether there were moves to regulate and police those who were using the Facebook page.

Bendigo Lifts 4 Cash has over 8000 members and there are dozens of requests for lifts on busy Friday and Saturday nights, as well as regular requests throughout the week.

Members post a request for a lift and drivers will respond, arranging a lift. Drivers also post when they are free to give lifts.

Related: Driver sees dark times for Bendigo taxi industry

The group has steadily increased in popularity to become an unregulated competitor with taxis and Uber.

Mr O’Sullivan said there were questions around insurance liability and public safety, and whether it was fair on taxis.

“What are the legal obligations if someone has a crash while they are receiving cash to give someone a lift?” he said.

“Jacinta Allan is the minister for public transport. She’s the right person to be looking into this, particularly in her own electorate.

“People on green P-plates are giving lifts as well. There are obvious issues with this.”

Ms Allan referred questions about the matter to Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria, which regulates the commercial passenger vehicle industry.

Related: More taxis on Bendigo roads than ever, Jacinta Allan claims

CPVV confirmed the drivers were operating illegally if they were not accredited with the regulator.

CPVV refused to comment on whether it can effectively regulate Lifts 4 Cash.

Liberal candidate for Bendigo East Ian Ellis, who has worked for years as a Highway Patrol officer and with the Major Collisions Investigation Unit, said it was a difficult service to regulate.

“There is always, unfortunately, an element in the community that chooses to not follow the rules, and most rules are to protect people from themselves,” he said.

“In this circumstance, there would be insurance issues, as in the drivers would not be covered to carry paying passengers, the passengers would be unlikely covered under the driver's insurance and tax issues.”

An administrator on the Bendigo Lifts 4 Cash page did not respond to a request for comment.