

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





City officials say they have granted Uber a private transportation company licence, one month after a new bylaw meant to bring regulation to the ridesharing app came into effect.

The bylaw created a separate regulation for rideshare services on July 15 which called for drivers to have minimum liability insurance coverage and to meet basic standards on the condition of vehicles used to pick up passengers.

The new rules also prevent Uber drivers from picking up passengers hailing them on the street, something some taxi representatives say they have witnessed anyways.

With Uber obtaining the new licence, the city says it will begin inspecting Uber drivers’ vehicles, verifying their insurance and conducting criminal background and driver abstract checks.

United Taxi Workers’ Association spokesperson Paul Sekhon said earlier on Tuesday that many taxi drivers will join in a planned demonstration against the city’s treatment of taxi drivers in contrast with Uber, starting at 7 a.m.

Taxi drivers say they will gather at the city’s municipal licensing and standards office at the East York Civic 850 Coxwell Ave. and move throughout the city.

Other taxi industry representatives thanked demonstrators for moving their protest to East York instead of the downtown core.

Sekhon said demonstrators have obtained a permit for the protest from police and are working to make sure the protest does not disrupt traffic.

Uber spokesperson Susie Heath said in an email that acquiring the city licence marks “another important milestone for bringing affordable on-demand transportation options to Toronto and comes as a result of cooperating with the City of Toronto as they work to implement the new city bylaw.”