Mississauga council caves on a key demand to Uber

City was set to commence a limited pilot project - if Uber quit operating first. It refused, leading to a "wild west" on the streets.

Thestar.com
May 25, 2016
By San Grewal

Mississauga council did a 180 Wednesday, paving the way for ride-sharing companies such as Uber to operate under a pilot program even though the company ignored council’s main condition to proceed with the plan - that it shut down operations until the pilot is launched.

“I’ve changed. Yes I have,” said Councillor Pat Saito, who two weeks ago stated in council that she was adamant about the condition and led a motion that included directions to scrap the pilot plan if Uber did not shut down its operation in the city.

But Uber ignored that directive and continued to operate. On Wednesday council caved, and Saito contradicted her earlier resolution with a new motion that removed the requirement for Uber to stop operating before the pilot could proceed.

“I want the pilot to move forward,” she said during a break in the meeting, after her motion passed. “Things are changing on a daily basis. I wanted to get as much support on council for the pilot (as possible), and if that meant massaging the motion and making amendments that other councillors could support it if those changes were made, then I’m prepared to do it.”

Meanwhile, staff and councillors detailed Uber’s continued “illegal” operation, after a separate motion two weeks ago banned ride-sharing companies unless they got traditional taxi licences and operated under similar regulations.

Staff said 50 charges were laid against Uber drivers in the past week, with fines that can reach as high as $25,000 for operators and $50,000 for the company.

But Uber, they said, is fighting the charges in court, using Charter challenges that staff said are complex and difficult to argue against.

While all of this goes on, and a pilot is now set to be drafted by a special committee, councillors described a wild-west scene on the streets of Mississauga, as Uber drivers operating illegally try to duck 11 city bylaw officers who are on the chase - up from nine.

Councillor Jim Tovey described Uber as “robber barons” during the public council debate. Councillor Ron Starr described the app-based company, which he said had directed drivers to keep operating illegally while bylaw officers try to chase them down, as “a group of bandits.”

Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who pushed for the pilot, said she would like to see a cap on the number of ride-sharing drivers allowed under the one-year test plan. She suggested again that a cap of 50 might make sense, because that’s the number of traditional taxi plates sitting on the city’s shelf.

It’s a number that represents a huge reduction from the 5,000 drivers Uber says are currently operating in the city.

“There was a determination by the majority, by the will of council, that the industry be modernized and that a test pilot be put into place to really test drive this new technology,” Crombie said during the break. “The reality is that it exists, and I think we need to be able to regulate it, to control it.”

Four councillors refused to support the motion, with some calling the proceedings “Groundhog Day” as council continues to extend Uber a lifeline despite its repeated refusal to shut down.

“We’re not dealing with equals,” Councillor George Carlson said during the debate, warning his peers of what he described as the tactics of an enemy that has no interest in ever co-operating. “We’re dealing with invaders.”

Council has given itself a deadline of the end of June to come up with rules for a pilot. If Uber does not agree to them, they said Wednesday, once again, the plan will not proceed.