Mayor John Tory’s staff working to come up with an Uber bylaw that will pass Toronto Council
Insidetoronto.com
May 3, 2016
By David Nickle
Toronto Mayor John Tory’s office has been huddling with councillors through the weekend to come up with a taxi and ride hailing service bylaw that will pass Toronto Council.
According to city hall sources, the mayor’s staff have been trying to hash out a coherent bylaw that will regulate both currently-licensed taxis and vehicles and drivers operating using the UberX ride-sharing app.
Last month, the city’s Licensing and Standards Committee largely rejected new regulations for UberX drivers, who would have faced few of the requirements that Toronto’s current licensed taxi drivers have.
The bylaw as written would have removed some of those requirements from taxi drivers - but according to taxi industry members, the result would still be a freer ride for UberX drivers, who use their own cars and drive on more casual hours.
Tory has suggested publicly that there are areas that he might be prepared to compromise on - for instance, requiring that UberX drivers have a command of the English language, and that their cars be required to use snow tires in the winter.
But Kristine Hubbard, operations manager of Beck Taxi, called those measures “insulting."
She said that ultimately, the only compromise is one that treats UberX drivers and licensed taxi drivers exactly the same.
“I think the bottom line is a person in a car driving you wherever you want to go, and another person in a car driving you wherever you want to go, shouldn’t have different regulations applied,” she said.
Tory will be under some pressure to create exactly that kind of bylaw - particularly from the left on council, who have advocated strongly for a level playing field between the two forms of transportation.
The left is also pushing for a high, common level of safety standards, full regulatory control of UberX drivers, an environment in which drivers are able to earn a living wage, and also to restore the regulatory environment that was approved by Toronto Council in 2014.
Councillors involved in negotiations were not willing to speak about the progress of discussions.
But ScarboroughAgincourt Councillor Jim Karygiannis, who has advocated strongly for the taxi industry as a member of the Licensing and Standards Committee, said he was certainly aware that negotiations have been intensified.
“I’ve been approached and I’ve approached, and from what I understand things are being worked out,” he said early afternoon, May 2.
Etobicoke-Lakeshore Councillor John Campbell, who has supported the staff recommendations, said he hadn’t been involved in any negotiations but expected to be meeting with the mayor at the end of the day.
