Mayor John Tory is vowing to create a new bylaw that will apply to the entire ground transportation industry, including upstart services like Uber.
Tory made the promise at city hall on Monday morning following a sit-down meeting with representatives from the taxi industry and Uber.
“What we need is one bylaw that applies without question to everybody,” Tory said. “We cannot have companies in this city doing business outside of the law and we cannot have the Wild West but we also cannot have a city that in some way ignores the march of technology and time.”
On Friday, an Ontario Superior Court judge dismissed the city’s application for an injunction against Uber, noting that it “failed to demonstrate” that the ride-sharing service is violating its bylaws.
That decision came at a time of rising tension between the taxi industry and Uber.
In recent months, taxi drivers have blocked traffic outside city hall on a number of different occasions to protest Uber and last week industry representatives held a press conference where they demanded that the city crackdown on the unlicenced and unregulated service.
Speaking with reporters at city hall on Monday, Tory admitted that cab drivers are “struggling” and said he is hopeful that a new bylaw governing ground transportation can be shaped with input from Uber and the taxi industry and brought before council early this fall.
“I recognize the urgency and I recognize the fact that it is not satisfactory to have laws that exist on the books that either cannot be or are not enforced,” he says. “We need to have one bylaw, so we don’t have people operating outside the law and so we can have fair, safe, convenient service for the people of Toronto.”
Uber has faced criticism over Uber X
Uber has come under fire in Toronto and elsewhere over its Uber X service, which allows drivers to use their personal cars to pick up fares.
That service, taxi industry representatives have said, puts passengers at risk because drivers are not held to the same rules and regulations as they would be if they operated a cab.
“I wish I had the news to tell the drivers that Uber is closed right now but today’s meeting is one step in the right direction,” iTaxi Workers President Sajid Mughal told reporters on Monday morning. “We want to work with the city.”
Mughal said last week that taxi drivers may stage anti-Uber protests during the Pan American Games but on Monday he said that he is taking that threat off the table as an act of “goodwill.”
Meanwhile, the General Manager for Uber Toronto said he is looking forward to working with the city and the taxi industry on a new bylaw.
"The regulations need to take account of technology and we look forward to participating," Ian Black told reporters. "There are Uber X drivers, passengers and taxi drivers all looking for a solution and the faster this process can go forward the better."
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