A number of people in the city of Ann Arbor welcomed the new ridesharing service Uber with open arms, but the welcome from the Ann Arbor Taxi Board wasn't as warm.

According to The Ann Arbor Chronicle, the board petitioned the Ann Arbor City Council for an ordinance amendment that would require all drivers-for-hire -- including Uber drivers -- to have to register with the city.

As it stands, only licensed taxicab drivers – not drivers with companies designated as limousine services or other drivers-for-hire services – have to register their drivers with the city.

The app-driven, on-demand transportation system Uber, which connects users with a driver through the use of a mobile device, announced its local launch on Tuesday, April 22.

During the April 23 board meeting, Stephen Kunselman, the city council’s representative on the Ann Arbor Taxi Board, said the registration of the drivers is more of a safety issue than anything else.

“The number one issue of regulating drivers in the industry is for public safety, all right? I want to know who these drivers are who are driving around picking up people in our town, okay? Number one issue,” he said.

Despite the appeal for an amendment, any change in the ordinance would have to be handed down by the Ann Arbor City Council itself.

Uber’s Detroit office was given a cease-and-desist order by the city’s law department in before the company launched, but it has not backed down from providing services in and around the city.

Law enforcement was given permission to ticket drivers who aren’t properly licensed.

The Ann Arbor Chronicle article said that board member Stephen Kunselman mentioned that assistant city attorney Kristen Larcom was present during the board’s discussion of Uber, and that he expected the city to follow in Detroit’s footsteps and issue a cease-and-desist letter.

“Uber is here and we’re going to counter it,” Kunselman said during the meeting. “We have to counter it. We can’t just let them come into our community and dictate that they are basically going to wipe out the taxicab industry because they are only using limo drivers.”

The proposed amendment to the ordinance wasn’t an agenda item, but was discussed when the board brought up the topic of deregulating taxi fares. Current rates include a $3 base fare plus $2.50 per mile and 40 cents per minute of wait time.

The lowest Uber fare costs $1.40 per mile plus 30 cents per minute waiting time plus a $2 base fare.