When it comes to regulating ride-hailing service Uber, Coun. Jim Karygiannis is asking the city to waste no time putting the wheels in motion.
This week’s council session, which began Tuesday, will be the last time council meets before summer break and Karygiannis says he plans to table an emergency motion asking city staff to look into how Uber can be included in the ground transportation bylaw.
Karygiannis’ motion asks that staff report back to the licensing committee on Sept. 9 with recommendations.
"The taxi industry is being seriously impacted by Uber. The city needs to amend its bylaws governing the taxi industry to enable taxi companies to be more competitive with Uber and services like it," Karygiannis' motion states.
The Ward 39 councillor says he wants the city to create a level playing field for both the traditional taxi industry and new and emerging technologies.
Following last week's dismissal of the city's application for a court injunction against Uber, Mayor John Tory vowed to create a bylaw that would apply to both cab companies and Uber.
Tory is expected to back Karygiannis’ motion, which will likely be introduced Wednesday.
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti says he also plans to put forward his own motion relating to Uber.
The York West councillor said his request will address cracking down on taxi services that are operating illegally in Toronto.
Expanded gaming at Woodbine also on the agenda
The debate on whether to expand gambling options at Woodbine Racetrack is also on the agenda at city hall this week.
Members of the city’s executive committee, including Tory, voted 10-3 in favour of the expansion at a meeting last week.
A staff report released last month suggested that by adding 2,000 electronic gaming machines and 300 table games at the Rexdale racetrack, it would bring an extra $12.5 million to $19.5 million in annual revenue in addition to the $15 million a year the city already receives from the facility.
Tory says his support for the facility stems from a desire to bring more jobs to that part of the city.
“While I am not going to diminish jobs that might happen in an expanded casino operation, those are not the jobs that I am most interested in. I am interested in the other kinds of jobs, jobs that come from conference facilities that may exist there or jobs that come from a new hotel or expanded retail facilities,” Tory told reporters last week.
“My enthusiasm in this will diminish considerably if there aren’t proposals that come forward that accompany the gambling and do other things to create those kinds of long lasting jobs that people need in the northwest corner of the city.”
The Woodbine debate also isn't expected to get underway until Wednesday.
