Walkout as Waterloo Region finalizes taxi bylaw

CTVKitchener: Uber bylaw passed In-car cameras won't be necessary in Uber vehicles

A final decision was made Wednesday night on Waterloo Region’s revised taxi bylaw.

But not everyone was happy with the new rules for both the taxi industry and ride sharing services like Uber.

Members of the taxi industry were clearly frustrated.

“So eager to ease up the requirements for Uber,” said Taxi Alliance President Bill Chester. “What do we owe them?”

He later walked out of the meeting.

“Uber, they threaten,” said Chester. “They say we’re not gonna come to Waterloo Region. Well guess what? Go away.”

Consumer safety was one of the biggest sticking points between the two sides. Uber vehicles don’t have surveillance cameras, while most taxis already have cameras installed inside their cabs.

Council debated the bylaw for hours. They finally decided that Uber vehicles were required to have built-in GPS units but were not required to have cameras.

“You’ve gone to the bar, you’re drunk,” said councillor Jane Mitchell. “You get in the back of the car. Do you want that recorded? Probably not.”

Chester disagreed with the decision.

“If it protects one sexual assault, we’ve done our job. It appears the bylaw committee doesn’t care about that.”

Council also decided that vehicle identification is required and all drivers will have to pay license fees.

While the new rules are much more than Uber wanted, the ride sharing service is happy with the result.

“Those decisions … are reflective of the need for consumers to have choice in Waterloo Region,” said Uber Canada’s Chris Schafer. “I think those were good decisions.”

Council will conduct a review of the new bylaws next year.