TORONTO

Despite council giving Uber the green light, the city won’t slam the brakes on hundreds of charges it has laid against the ridesharing company and its drivers.

Since Oct. 2015, at least 2,000 bylaw charges have either been laid or are being processed against Uber and its drivers by the City of Toronto.

“All charges related to the operation of Uber and its drivers will continue through the appropriate court processes,” city spokesman Tammy Robbinson told the Sun on Friday. “They are not being withdrawn due to council’s decision.”

The total number of charges before the courts right now are up to almost 1,000 since last fall. Out of those 952 charges for alleged bylaw violations, 588 are against Uber corporate entities.

But they don’t stop there.

Robbinson said the city is processing 1,048 additional charges — 204 of them against Uber drivers and 824 of them against Uber corporate entities.

Individual UberX drivers face two types of charges: one is for operating a taxicab without a licence and the other is for using or allowing the use of a vehicle that has not been approved by the city.

Uber the company is charged with dispatching unlicensed taxicabs.

Maximum penalties for these alleged bylaw violations run from $25,000 for a single person to $50,000 for a corporation.

At the end of the day, penalties are up to the courts. No convictions have been rendered so far.

Earlier this month, council approved regulations for Uber that will allow the company an opportunity to operate legally in Toronto.

Uber drivers will be required to prove to the city they hold $2 million in liability insurance and hand over a background check to the city, among other regulations.

When reached for comment on the bylaw charges making their way through court, Uber Canada said “we don’t believe that enforcement measures are the best path forward.

“Which is why we advocated for new ridesharing regulations,” said spokesman Susie Heath.

“As we saw last week, Toronto City Council voted to put in place a new framework that includes workable rules for ridesharing in Toronto — we believe these rules are positive and have begun work with city staff on these new developments.”