The city plans to police Uber according to existing rules for taxis despite a recent Canadian court case that sided with the global app-driven car service over efforts to further regulate it.

If Uber enters Hamilton without licensing, the company will face charges, city spokesperson Ann Lamanes says.

But Coun. Sam Merulla says there's little the city can do to force Uber into compliance.

"The courts trump bylaws. Only the feds and province can legislate the regulation."

Uber offers a number of services, which range from hailing regular cabs to providing luxury cars with a private driver. Its most controversial service is UberX.

Riders use the app on their smartphones to request and prepay for a ride. Then, a driver will pick them up. The California-based company says UberX is cheaper, faster and more reliable than traditional taxis.

Cabbies say UberX is only cheaper because it has fewer overhead costs, as it isn't regulated in the same way traditional taxi brokers are.

Uber operates in more than 300 cities around the world.

Ontario's Superior Court ruled July 3 that Uber didn't need to follow the same rules as traditional taxi companies, which have to be municipally licensed.

The city of Toronto took Uber to court, seeking an injunction that would force the company to follow the same strict regulations as taxis.

As a result, Toronto has laid a series of charges against individual UberX drivers instead of the company itself.

If Hamilton were to do that, drivers could be charged more than $5,000.

Taxi drivers around the world are lobbying governments to force Uber to get licensed and face the same restrictions as its competitors.

In Hamilton, those restrictions include not operating a vehicle older than six years; Uber allows vehicles up to 10 years old.

Taxi drivers also have to undergo regular safety inspections and have a number of safety features in their cars.

The company continues to explore the possibility of expanding into Hamilton, Uber spokesperson Susie Heath wrote in an email to The Spectator Thursday.

In January, Uber held registration sessions to see how many Hamilton residents would be interested in driving for the service.

Heath says Uber continues to gauge the community's interest.

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"We don't have any imminent launch plans to share at the moment."

If Uber enters Hamilton without licensing, the company will face charges, Lamanes says.

But Merulla says that may not work, as the Toronto court case demonstrated. He says the only thing the city can do is ask the provincial and federal governments to intervene.