Toronto councillors vote to legalize ride-sharing service Uber

Following a marathon day at city hall, councillors have voted in favour of a set of rules to help even the playing field between ridesharing services like Uber and traditional taxis.

Uber officials, who threatened to leave the city if expensive restrictions were going to be imposed on them, approved of the ammended regulations that council passed last night.

"“We are deeply appreciative of the support we’ve had from the Toronto community, all of those people who spoke up in support of ride-sharing and certainly the leadership of the mayor. For over 12 months now, he has been shepherding this issue through council to I think a big step forward today so we are appreciative of his leadership, appreciative that city council is moving ahead with this issue and now we are excited to get to the work of continuing to innovate transportation in Toronto without the constant regulatory debate.”

The vote Tuesday night follows a number of amendments to the proposed ground transportation rules by Mayor John Tory.

Two weeks ago members of the licensing and standards committee rejected a number of proposed regulations that would have created a separate licensing category for ride-sharing services but on Tuesday Tory moved a motion at council reinstating most of those regulations while also making a number of changes to the initial guidelines prepared by city staff.

The changes include a new rule that would set a minimum price of $3.25 for all Uber X fares (the current base price is $2.50) as well as another rule that would allow taxis to use surge-pricing like Uber but only for fares that are booked through an online app.

The motion to set the minimum price at no lower than $3.25 carried 35-7.

The motion also stipulates that both taxis and Uber vehicles be outfitted with winter tires from Dec. 1 to March 15. It carried 27-15.

The initial recommendations drew criticism from some for removing a requirement for taxis to be outfitted with winter tires.

“I believe this motion represents the best possible way to do the two things I have talked about, which is to regulate these companies that have come into the marketplace and to make sure that the taxi industry can survive and thrive going forward,” Tory said on Tuesday afternoon, as he tabled the amended motion.

Representatives for the taxi industry have said that the initial package of guidelines effectively created a two-tiered system where taxi drivers would be held to one set of rules and Uber drivers would be held to a different set of rules.

Tory said the framework he is proposing “most closely follows” the advice of staff while also taking into account feedback from the public.

One of the other substantial changes covered by the amendments includes a move to require that all drivers for ridesharing services submit documentation to the city for approval, including a copy of their driver’s license, vehicle inspection reports and insurance. Previously the guidelines required only that drivers submit such documentations to the ridesharing service.

Discussing the amendments with CP24 on Tuesday afternoon, Toronto Taxi Alliance spokesperson Sam Moini said he needs more time to look into them and determine whether or not they are fair.

Moini, however, said he is pleased to see a standard minimum fare of $3.25 for both taxis and Uber vehicles.

“I think it is important that everyone follows the same rules. The $3.25 fee is standard for the taxi drivers so it should be for Uber too,” he said.