Uber: London taxi lobbyist threatens action as city stalls

LFPress.com
Aug. 30, 2016
By Hank Daniszewski

Frustrated with foot-dragging by city council, London’s taxi industry may soon take direct action to fight back.

Roger Caranci, a consultant to the cab industry, said city council has so far ignored demands to launch a legal injunction to shut down Uber and step up bylaw enforcement.

He said the cab industry may soon take some action on its own.

“They (Uber) are still on the streets, raring to go for the upcoming student rush this weekend. We are very frustrated. We are formulating plans to fight their illegal business here in London,” said Caranci, a real estate agent and former city councillor.

Earlier this month unionized taxi drivers filed a $215-million class-action lawsuit against the City of Ottawa over new rules allowing Uber to operate and not enforcing the prior bylaw.

Caranci declined to give details of the strategy for London but said an announcement will be made before a public meeting on overhauling taxi bylaws tentatively scheduled for October.

The stepped-up battle comes as 50,000 Western and Fanshawe students start flooding back into the city. Many of them use taxis, or used to.

Since Uber entered the London market, in apparent defiance of the city’s taxi bylaws, many younger customers have switched to the ride-sharing service.

Taxi drivers waiting for a fare in front of the Via Rail station on Tuesday said all they can do is wait for council to tackle the issue while Uber once again cuts into the lucrative student market this fall.

“We’ve already lost a lot of business. We needed some action a long time ago,” said one driver who declined to give his name.

Orest Katolyk, the city’s chief bylaw enforcement said 58 charges involving 33 drivers have been laid for violating the city’s taxi bylaw.

But none on the charges, some laid as long a year ago, have made it through the court process.

Katolyk could not explain the slow progress on the charges, explaining it was up to the prosecutors.

“They’re been rescheduled and adjourned. Every city is experiencing this. It’s not unusual.”

Last month, city council received a staff report recommending amendments to the taxi bylaw, but some recommendations were changed to accommodate Uber.

A public meeting on the bylaw changes will be held in October.

Caranci has been harshly critical of Ward 4 councillor Jesse Helmer, who led the effort on council to approve amendments that favoured Uber.

“He is doing exactly what Uber tells him,” said Caranci.