New taxi bylaw revealed by Waterloo Region

therecord.com
Aug. 11, 2015
By Paige Desmond

The Region of Waterloo is trying to regulate Uber with a new bylaw.

But politicians were skeptical the ride-hailing app would fall in line.

"At the end of the day we'll have possibly a better bylaw but not necessarily one that Uber or other rideshare operators are going to embrace," Coun. Tom Galloway said.

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

At a meeting Tuesday regional officials presented the proposed new rules that would apply to the traditional taxi industry as well as services like Uber.

The rules would go into effect in January, but not until public consultation is complete.

One of the first meetings will be held Thursday evening with the taxi and transportation industries.

Local taxi drivers have opposed the service because it has so far been operating by its own rules. Ride services like Uber are considered illegal under the region's current taxi bylaw.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said one meeting might not be enough.

"You may need more than one session for that group because there's a lot of passionate voices in that group," he said.

Coun. Sean Strickland said the province should be drafting additional legislation to regulate ride-hailing provincewide. However he said the region will still attempt to prepare a fair bylaw

"The whole idea is to provide a level playing field as much as we possibly can," Strickland said.

Regional clerk Kris Fletcher said more than 60 complaints have been received about people operating as Uber drivers.

"Each and every one of those complaints will be investigated...we will then take appropriate action," she said.

Highlights of the proposed bylaw:

• There would be two types of taxis, metred taxis and auxiliary taxis. Auxiliary would include services like Uber
• New taxi licences would be doled out using a lottery approach. There would be no limit on the number of auxiliary taxis
• All drivers would have to complete vulnerable sector screenings and various other safety measures. Cameras would be required in all vehicles and global positioning devices.
• Brokers would no longer be required to have at least 10 owner licences.
• Vehicles can be owned by a corporation.
• All vehicles would require $2 million in commercial liability insurance
• There would be no minimum fare for metred taxis, but rather a maximum fare.