9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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It was undoubtedly only a matter of time that Uber would bring its controversy to the doorstep of the Greater Sudbury Area. The city has said that it is at least willing to consider regulating Uber, but will need to create a new bylaw to do so … it is a luxury that other municipalities in Ontario and Canada have not afforded the U.S. based ride-sharing firm.
Other cities have shown that exploring the idea of a new bylaw is easier said than done. Edmonton successfully created a bylaw that Uber agreed with, only for an auto insurance problem to scupper the company’s legalization in the Albertan city. Other cities have seen Uber pull out of markets in protest at what the company perceives as unfair regulations, Calgary being the most notable.
So, Greater Sudbury has a balancing act to perform, but it is one the city says it is willing to perform. The local government has said it is going to try and create a balanced bylaw, one that can accommodate Uber without alienating the traditional taxi service, which sees Uber as an unfair competitor.
The new vehicles-for-hire bylaw is still in its infancy and the council is sending out a report to assess a way to tread a line towards pleasing all parties.
“The recommendation in this report responds to the motion by council to consider regulations that find a middle ground which allows Uber to serve as broker for its drivers and allows the conventional taxi industry to function more like Uber,” the report says.
“This includes restricting ride share drivers to app-based activity while allowing conventional taxi’s the flexibility to use traditional dispatch, hail and taxi stand methods in addition to an app similar to the ride share sector.”
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Uber’s rise in Canada caught governing and regulatory bodies off guard and there has been a scramble to sort out the mess. Greater Sudbury is being urged to avoid such confusion by preparing in advance for the UberX service to arrive in the city.
Ward 9 councilor Deb McIntosh thinks the situation seen in other jurisdictions can be avoided and is pressing Greater Sudbury to prepare now. She has tabled a motion that would see the city’s current taxi bylaws assessed to gauge how the arrival of Uber in the Sudbury area could affect the city. She has called for the city staff to report back in spring with their findings.
Over the last year Uber has risen in Canada’s major cities, most of the time receiving a less than warm welcome when doing so. Regulators were caught off guard and the result sees Uber Canada operating without any regulatory license, its drivers effectively operating illegally and without sufficient auto insurance.
While the country is slowly moving towards accepting Uber, it is clear that when the ride-sharing service enters a new market it brings plenty of discord with it. McIntosh thinks this could be avoided in Great Sudbury.
“I’m hoping to avoid what’s happening in other cities,” McIntosh told the Sudbury Star. “That was the instigation for me to put this motion forward, to prevent conflict. I wanted us to be proactive rather than reactive and just waiting until it gets here.”
Uber’s expansion in Canada has been rapid and the service is currently available in 12 cities around the country, with a focus in Ontario. The U.S. based company said there are no plans to expand to Sudbury, but it seems covering the entire province is a logical goal.
“While we don’t have specific launch plans for Sudbury at the moment, I can tell you that Uber aims to expand to communities across Canada and we’re always looking at what’s next,” said Susie Heath, an Uber representative.
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