Toronto taxi firm Co-op cabs launched a campaign against ridesharing and car hire app Uber Monday, asking female users to question the app’s policies around passenger safety and driver screening.

The company said in a news release it’s putting up posters in 200 women’s bathrooms around Toronto. The posters question the safety of the app’s lower cost UberX service, where ordinary car owners act as drivers for hire using their personal vehicles.

“The poster campaign is designed to do one simple thing,” Co-op Cabs spokesperson Alex Pierson said in a news release. “And that is to get people talking about personal safety and the risks associated with riding in an unmarked Uber X car.”

Last week, Uber told CP24 that it would seek a Toronto taxi brokerage license, in an apparent break from its previous position that it shouldn’t fall under the same regulations as ordinary taxi firms.

"The reality is that the taxi industry's fear mongering tactics don't resonate with riders and drivers," Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath said in a statement. "While we haven't seen the ads, I can tell you that our focus remains on meeting the needs of Toronto's riders and drivers and ensuring we continue to provide the safest rides on the roads."

But the company is not seeking a taxi brokerage license for its ridesharing UberX service, only its UberTAXI service, which allows its app to solicit traditional taxis in addition to private cars for hire.

"We made a license application for our UberTAXI product in Toronto as part of a commitment to collaboration with the City," Heath wrote. "This is just one step towards our participation in a comprehensive regulatory solution that includes ridesharing."

Co-op Cabs’ campaign asks residents to write to their city councillor and ask whether UberX drivers face a background check and what sort of insurance Uber provides for its drivers.

Uber representatives have said that all drivers, even ridesharing service drivers, must pass a criminal background check, and that all drivers are covered by comprehensive liability insurance.

The City of Toronto sought a court injunction to completely bar Uber from operating last November.

But in a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade last week, Toronto Mayor John Tory suggested the city needs to strike a compromise between Uber and taxi companies.