Mayor John Tory says that he remains confident that city council will pass a “balanced package of regulations” that will allow Uber to continue operating while ensuring that the playing field is levelled for conventional taxis.
Tory made the comment to reporters on Wednesday afternoon in the wake of a report in the Toronto Sun in which Uber Canada’s general manager said that the company would have to pack up and leave Toronto if council approves ground transportation regulations that don’t include a category allowing ridesharing services to operate.
“I will be working hard through the weekend and into next week to make sure that what we have approved by city council is a balanced set of regulations that put Uber under the regulatory framework for the first time, that make sure the regulations are fair as they apply to taxis and most of all is considerate to the public in terms of the need for safety but also their ability to have choice,” Tory said. “If people are truly committed to achieving a balanced solution there is no reason for anybody to leave town.”
Last month, city staff came forward with a number of proposed regulations for Uber, including a recommendation to place the ride-sharing service in its own licensing category separate from taxi drivers.
When the licensing and standards committee later met to discuss the staff report, though, members of the committee effectively voted against legalizing the service by deleting recommendations that would bring Uber under the law.
Speaking with reporters following a speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Tory said he is willing to revisit the regulations that were initially proposed in an effort to gain the support of a majority of councillors.
Specifically, Tory said he would be willing to budge on controversial changes that would have removed requirements for taxi drivers to have a grasp of the English language and to outfit their vehicles with winter tires.
“Our work continues.it is not a matter of accepting or rejecting any package of proposals from the past or the present,” he said. “It is a matter of crafting in a consensual way a balanced package that allows Uber and companies like it to be available to people in a safe way and also allows taxicabs to compete fairly and to be available to people as they have been for a long time.”
Tory has previously faced criticism from members of the taxi industry, who have said that he has allowed Uber to operate at the expense of their industry.
Some lobbyists for the taxi industry have even gone as far as saying that Uber could eventually bring about the end of conventional taxis due to the service’s low overhead and ability to undercut its competition.
“Good riddance if they want to leave,” longtime Uber opponent and Ward 30 Coun. Jim Karygiannis told CP24 on Wednesday. “They are a company that came in and said ‘it is my way or the highway’ and I am sorry that is not going to work. They have been flouting federal, provincial and municipal laws and they are trying to have it their way. Blackmailing council? I am sorry that doesn’t work.”
The ground transportation regulations will be debated by city council at a meeting which begins on Tuesday.
In a statement sent out last week, Uber said that if the guidelines are approved as-is would force the company out of Toronto, making it the largest city in North America without the service.
