Mississauga council voted 8-4 to lift its ban on Uber and push up the deadline for a pilot program to regulate ridesharing.

Representatives from the taxi industry left council chambers shaking their heads on Wednesday after Mississauga council passed yet another motion on the Uber file, lifting a restriction it had placed on the company last week.

On May 18, councillors voted 10-2 to establish a committee to regulate ridesharing in Mississauga. As part of that motion, Uber was asked to cease and desist until committee members were selected and regulations for a pilot program had been put forth. If the company failed to do so, the committee would disband and negotiations with Uber and other transportation network companies (TNC) would be off the table.

That is no longer the case, as councillors have opted to have the City's enforcement staff continue ticketing Uber drivers through their existing bylaws until a new regulatory framework is presented to council.

The committee is to be composed of two councillors, a member from TNC, a taxi representative and a citizen appointed member. All of the members have been selected, save for a representative from the taxi industry.

Peel Taxi Alliance representative Marcel Weider said the taxi industry is not interested in being part of negotiations with Uber or other TNC until they stop operating in Mississauga.

In a May 24 letter to the City, Uber general manager Ian Black stated, “Uber remains committed to serving them (100,000 riders and 5,000 drivers) while working with the city on a TNC pilot program.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said it's in the best interest of the taxi industry to select a representative sooner rather than later in hopes of reaching a compromise to the Uber vs. taxi debate.

A deadline of June 29 was approved for the pilot program to be formulated, pushed up almost three months from the original September 21 deadline approved by council last week.