Uber kicks Waterloo Region bylaw officers off app

Therecord.com
Oct. 8, 2015
By Paige Desmond

Region of Waterloo bylaw officers have been kicked off Uber after using the app to find and ticket drivers.

Five Uber drivers have been fined by the region for operating in violation of the local taxi bylaw and another 61 warnings have been issued.

These are the first fines since Uber launched here in July. They were issued last week.

Coun. Jane Mitchell, who chairs the committee overseeing the local taxi industry, said this is the second time Uber has blocked local bylaw officers from using the app.

"Uber, right from the beginning, knew what our rules were," Mitchell said.

Several penalties can be issued for violating the region's taxi bylaw, including $165 for driving without a taxi licence. Multiple convictions could lead to a fine of up to $25,000.

Mitchell said bylaw officers were blocked once before after booking rides to find and issue warnings to drivers. After that the region asked that they be unblocked so they would know what's going on.

Uber did so but when fines were issued, Mitchell said, officers were blocked again this week.

"In instances of enforcement, we will always stand behind the hardworking community of driver partners in Waterloo Region," said Susie Heath, spokesperson for Uber Canada.

Heath said Uber believes a regulatory solution is the best way to deal with the app, not enforcement.

That's the region's goal.

A new vehicle for hire bylaw is expected to be approved by politicians later this year that would take effect Jan. 1 and would attempt to regulate Uber.

Officials have been irked that the app set up shop ahead of the new rules.

"They jumped right in and don't care about the laws," Mitchell said.

The region's proposed bylaw would make Uber legal provided drivers adhere to several safety regulations. The new rules would replace current taxi and limousine bylaws.

"I think that there's a responsibility of the region to uphold existing bylaws," Coun. Sean Strickland said. "So while we're obviously preparing a draft bylaw you can't very well expect staff to say don't uphold existing bylaws while they're under review."

Local taxi drivers have complained the region wasn't enforcing its own laws.

The local taxi industry opposes Uber, saying it's illegal and doesn't follow the same safety regulations taxis must follow.

Since mid-August there have been 66 complaints about Uber drivers. Kris Fletcher, director of council and administrative services, said the majority have been from taxi drivers.

The Uber app allows almost anyone with a licence to offer rides-for-hire in their personal vehicle. The app allows people to book, track and pay for a ride with their smartphone.

Confrontation between the two industries has been escalating.

A 55-year-old Cambridge man faces charges of assault with a weapon and dangerous driving after an incident with a City Cab driver in September.

The two argued when the City Cab driver saw the Uber driver and confronted him. The cabbie tried to photograph the Uber driver's licence plate, and was allegedly struck lightly by the Uber driver's car before the Cambridge man took off, also allegedly running two red lights on King Street.

The taxi alliance has encouraged drivers to take photos of Uber drivers and report them.