Taxi commission`s draft bylaw is too strict: Uber

TheWhig.com
Sept. 15, 2017
Elliot Ferguson

The ride-booking company Uber is not happy with the contents of a draft bylaw to regulate the industry in the city.

The draft bylaw is currently before the Kingston Area Taxi Commission.

But many of the provisions in the draft bylaw, and the commission tasked with coming up with it, are not sitting well with the company.

“The draft bylaw contemplated by the KATC to regulate ridesharing includes a framework that is not good for riders or for drivers, and will not help to foster greater choice in transportation options in Kingston,” company spokesperson Chris Schafer said.

Schafer said many of the requirements laid out in the draft bylaw are more strict than what has been adopted in other municipalities.

The bylaw requires prospective drivers to go in person to the police station for a traditional criminal background check, to be fingerprinted and provide sworn affidavits, and to be tested for their knowledge of the city.

Under the draft bylaw, each Uber driver must have a traditional paper and photo licence.

The draft bylaw also caps the number of Uber vehicles in the city at 150, with no more than 50 vehicles online in a 24-hour period, and the vehicles themselves have to be less than six years old and carry two decals identifying them as Uber.

Schafer said much of the company’s concern is that the taxi commission is trying to adapt old legislation to a modern industry.

Many of the licensing and regulating requirements can be completed online, often through the Uber app, Schafer said.

“While we have worked with the Kingston Area Taxi Commission to help commissioners understand ridesharing and the benefits it brings to cities, the decades-old provincial legislation governing the KATC grants it jurisdiction over ‘taxicabs’ only and not ridesharing,” Schafer said.

“Following on the heels of other cities across Ontario, including Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and Oakville, we encourage Kingston city council to adopt a progressive regulatory framework that embraces ridesharing.”

To support the company’s position, Schafer pointed to a survey of 400 Kingston residents that showed the majority of residents support the company and want a bylaw that will allow it to continue to operate.

In a letter to the taxi commission, MADD Canada has also come out in favour of Uber in Kingston as a way to reduce impaired driving.

A petition from about 450 Queen’s University students also supports the company’s operations in Kingston, Schafer said.