Feisty debate brewing at city hall over Uber, taxi rules

By News staff

Tension is building at City Hall where dozens of cabbies and Uber drivers are closely watching councillors debate proposed regulations for Toronto’s taxi industry and ride-sharing services.

The council meeting started at 9:30 a.m. Click here to read the agenda.

Ahead of the meeting, Mayor John Tory said what he wants is calm discussion.

“I just hope we can have a sort of rational, thoughtful discussion today and make a decision,” Tory said.

As the meeting started, Speaker Francis Nunziata issued a stern warning to those attending the meeting, saying she doesn’t want any applauding, cheering, or rowdy behaviour. Those who don’t comply were escorted out.

In April, city staff unveiled a much-anticipated list of over 100 recommendations to try to create a level playing field between the ride-sharing service and the traditional taxi industry.

The list suggested different sets of rules for both taxis and vehicle-for-hire services, including background checks for Uber drivers and allowing taxis to offer discounts to people who use phone or Internet apps to get a cab.


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“It’s one of those things where these are different businesses but the objective remains the same, to have safe transportation on the ground for people who want it, to give them a choice and to make sure that the competition is fairly regulated,” Tory said on Tuesday morning.

 

At Queen’s Park, Premier Kathleen Wynne was asked whether the province should step in and handle the Uber regulations. She said the bulk of it should be handled by the city, but added that “there are some provisions that the province needs to weigh in on.”

“We need to be part of insurance … we are working on that, to put in place some proposals to address the insurance issue. We are very aware that this is something the province needs to be a part of,” she said.

During the meeting, Tracey Cook, executive director of Municipal Licensing and Standards, said Uber has been a “huge disruptive change to an established industry.” She said there are 45,000 “unregulated” trips per day in the city.

The recommendations also include a $290 licensing fee for taxi drivers, which is a drop of 17 per cent from the current charge. Uber drivers would have to pay $10, plus a ‘per ride fee’ of 20 cents.

The 17-day training requirement for cabbies would be eliminated and all vehicles would have to carry $2 million worth of liability insurance.

Taxi drivers argue that the proposed rules still give Uber an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, Uber has signalled that it could cease operations in Toronto if city council passes its proposed regulations.

Councillors are expected to vote on the regulations on Wednesday.

With files from Cynthia Mulligan and Momin Qureshi

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