Toronto taxi industry remains upset over delays in regulating Uber

GlobalNews.ca
Aug. 9, 2016
By David Shum

Representatives from Toronto’s taxi industry remain angered over the city’s delay in enforcing an amended bylaw that places restrictions on private transportation companies (PTC) such as Uber.

The iTaxiwokers Association has called a press conference Tuesday morning to update its plans on possible demonstrations to put pressure on the city to act “fairly.”

The new City of Toronto bylaw governing the Vehicle-for-Hire industry, including taxicabs, limousines and PTCs, took effect on July 15.

However, the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department said last week there is a delay in processing PTC license applications.

“There is a time delay because the city began receiving applications on July 15,” said Tammy Robinson of the City’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department.

“But all applications, not just this one, have a processing time. Due to that, we haven’t issued the actual licence to Uber yet. However, we have been working with them to meet all of the requirements.”

The city says the PTC licensing process is anticipated to be completed later this month.

Meanwhile, the taxi industry claims the city is dragging its feet and has reportedly threatened job action or demonstrations to get their point across.

Uber spokesperson Susie Heath confirmed to Global News last week they have complied with all the new regulations despite not receiving the license on paper.

“Over the last two months, we have been working to come into compliance with Toronto’s new by-law,” she said.

“We have applied for our PTC license and look forward to receiving it from the City of Toronto soon. The city has a phased application process and we expect to fulfill each phase as it becomes available.”

Toronto councillors voted in May to impose new rules that would allow ridesharing companies like Uber to operate in the city.

However, the vote was far from unanimous as some councillors argued the new bylaw was too lenient towards PTCs and would put passenger safety at risk.

Ontario recently joined Alberta as the only other province to approve insurance coverage from Intact Financial Corp. to Uber drivers.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario said the “blanket fleet coverage” addresses a “critical insurance gap” for the industry.

The new policy covers all Uber drivers, passengers and vehicle owners when Uber is in use, and when the app is off the vehicle owner’s personal auto insurance policy applies.