Toronto rules can’t keep pace with new apps

With just a swipe and a click, plenty of Toronto services are available through apps and websites, but some of these services are drawing the ire of city officials

Thestar.com
July 29, 2015
By Lauren Pelley

Parking spots. Taxi rides. A bed to crash in for the night.

With just a swipe and a click, plenty of Toronto services are available through apps and websites, offering convenience right through someone’s Smartphone.

But despite their growing popularity, some of these services are drawing the ire of city officials.

Rover

The app:Rover matches drivers with the owners of empty, unused parking spaces and takes a 30 per cent cut of each transaction - with parking prices capped at $2 an hour to stay competitive with traditional parking lots and street parking spots.

The clash: A City of Toronto spokesperson recently raised concerns about the suggestions made by the app. “If you have a parking space attached to a dwelling, the bylaw requires that space to be available to the person who lives in the dwelling,” said Klaus Lehmann, who works on the city’s zoning bylaws. Paid parking in a residential driveway could be classified as running a commercial parking lot - potentially leading to a hefty fine for homeowners.

The outcome: It’s not clear yet what this means for the future of the app, which has already been downloaded more than 1,000 times. “I think a lot of people would say (parking in neighbourhoods) is a potential problem, but the technology itself is what it is, it’s here to stay, it’s not going anywhere and we’d better find a way to make sure regulations catch up with it,” Mayor John Tory said Wednesday.

Uber

The app:Uber connects people with taxis, private cars and rideshare opportunities - along with a new meal delivery service, UberEATS - through its smartphone app. A user’s credit card is linked to the user’s account, allowing instant, cashless payment.

The clash: The company has long insisted it doesn’t need to be regulated, but taxi companies and the city disagree, saying Uber operates like a taxi brokerage. The city tried to ban the app on Toronto streets and lost its bid in a court ruling earlier this month, but the fight’s not over yet.

The outcome: After the ruling, Mayor John Tory said modernized laws regulating Uber are “priority number one” for the city and that the plan is to have a new municipal bylaw overseeing all ground transportation - including Uber - before city council this fall. On Wednesday, he noted that Uber is “operating outside of the law,” but that doesn’t mean the solution is to “stamp out the technology.”

Airbnb

The app:Airbnb lets people rent accommodations from hosts in more than 190 countries - meaning you can pay to crash at someone’s home, apartment, bachelor pad or various other types of lodgings around the globe.

The clash: A particularly noisy, party-filled Airbnb rental raised concern from neighbours in Willowdale earlier this year. Since then, several city councillors - including Ward 33’s Shelley Carroll - have talked about regulating the home-rental website and other similar services.

The outcome: In March, Carroll told the Star she hoped to see the city tackle the issue of short-term home rental services as part of a rooming-house review set for the spring. But renters and homeowners can breathe easy for awhile. The report is “behind schedule,” Carroll said on Wednesday, and won’t be out until the fall.

Car2Go

The app:Car2Go is a car-sharing service in various European and North American cities with more than 1,000,000 members. Users are charged by the minute, but hourly and daily rates are available too.

The clash: It’s not a city crackdown, but rather a push from Car2Go for permission from city council to park its cars on residential streets - since right now, the cars can only be left at and picked up from municipal lots, according to city rules.

The outcome: Car2Go is hoping to make the proposal at a public works and infrastructure committee meeting in September, but public works chair Jaye Robinson says it’ll likely have to wait until later in the fall. The proposal will coincide with a staff report on a potential pilot project allowing residential car-share parking. “I think it’s an idea worth exploring,” Robinson said.

SpaceFinder

The app: Basically an Airbnb-style service for artists, SpaceFinder is a Toronto “matchmaking tool” that connects artists with creative work spaces - helping them find the right venue for their work while maximizing bookings for business owners. Over 380 spaces are available so far, including studios of various sizes and the Ontario Science Centre’s great hall.

The clash: Nothing yet. So far, it doesn’t look like SpaceFinder is on the city’s radar for any legal issues.