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“It’s not really a question of going after people,” Byford said. “We just have to make sure the rules are applied.”

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Uber’s new service will run from 7 to 10 a.m. and then downtown shuttles will take passenger back to those four areas in the afternoon, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Uber says it plans to add more routes, depending on demand.

“Because that initiative has been announced and there’s a very clear intent to effectively provide an alternate transit service, we want the lawyers to have a look at it,” Byford said. “Just to make sure that we give our political masters advice, because they’re already asking us, ‘What is the TTC’s view on this?'”

The expansion of the ride-sharing empire comes days after aggravated taxi drives staged a major, citywide protest last week, calling on Toronto and provincial lawmakers to regulate Uber. Toronto Mayor John Tory responded Monday, saying it would be impractical to try to shut down the service.

“I’m not anti-Uber but my loyalty is to the TTC,” Byford said. “I thought it was kind of ironic that the head of the TTC should be sent an Uber invitation. … I can tell you now I will be continuing to use the 504 King streetcar.”

In an email to the Post, Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath called the new project “an easy way for commuters to share their trips with other commuters and help reduce traffic congestion in our city.

Heath pointed to a TTC staff analysis of a previous Uber service, uberPOOL — a two-week pilot project during the Pan Am Games that connected two Toronto Uber riders taking similar routes, and let them split the fare.