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Uber spokeswoman Lauren Altmin, who was aware of one charge Sunday afternoon, said the company will support the drivers financially. The company is still determining whether it will ask the drivers to go to court to fight the fines first, she said.

“Costly sting operations that seek to protect a monopoly that has remained unchanged for decades only hurts the consumers that have been asking for expanded transportation choices,” she said. “We don’t believe Ottawa citizens should be threatened or penalized for providing a safe and reliable ride to their fellow Ottawans.”

Uber was already in more than 200 other cities when it started up with free promotional rides in Ottawa last Wednesday. At the time, Jones said the city would start enforcing taxi rules when the free rides ended, since regulations only apply when a fare is charged.

But she said Sunday that enforcement started earlier because Uber was charging for rides costing more than $20. Uber has since extended the timeline for free rides costing less than $20 “until further notice.”

Altmin said the extension was planned before the charges.

More charges are possible against the two already charged, other drivers and the company, Jones said. She couldn’t specify the amount of city resources going toward policing Uber.

“Enforcement of illegal taxi cabs is just a regular part of our program,” she said. “So we’re just deploying resources from within the bylaw area.”