Uber drivers getting red light from city hall: report
Posted August 13, 2015 5:56 am.
Last Updated August 13, 2015 5:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Uber drivers are getting the red light from city hall as charges pile up, the Toronto Sun reports.
Toronto has handed out 198 tickets to 99 drivers – an average of two tickets each – as of last Friday. That’s a huge increase from July 16, when 36 drivers were facing 72 charges.
Last month, city council voted unanimously to have police and bylaw officers start enforcing current rules prohibiting unlicensed taxi and limo drivers. Though there was no word on when this crackdown would officially begin, it appears some drivers are feeling the pinch.
Mayor John Tory has said that UberX was “operating outside of the current law and that is not sustainable.”
UberX connects private drivers, who use their own vehicles, with passengers. But the legality of the service is under fire from both the taxi industry and city hall.
The taxi industry argues that UberX is unregulated and its drivers don’t have commercial licences, putting passenger safety in jeopardy while simultaneously driving traditional cabbies out of business.
Meanwhile, the city had launched a legal challenge against Uber, arguing the company operated as a taxi broker and breached city bylaw. The legal challenge was dismissed and the city will be reviewing its taxi bylaws next month.
