Uber and other ride-sharing companies have been given a one-week deadline to shut down by the Mississauga council, threatening cancellation of a proposed pilot program if said companies do not comply.
Last week, the city council banned ride-sharing companies unless they follow the same licencing and insurance rules as regular taxis, but said that a pilot program in the works could ease restrictions.
Councillor Carolyn Parrish, who is against transportation companies such as Uber, said the proposed pilot program should be cancelled. She mentioned that the motion passed last week stated that all ride-sharing companies should cease operations before a pilot program would be implemented. Since Uber did not stop operations, Parrish said that the pilot program should be cancelled.
Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath did not mention if Uber would pull out of Mississauga next week, but with 100,000 daily riders and 5,000 drivers in the city, they contacted the city council and requested an earlier date for recommendations on the framework for a pilot program. She also mentioned that councils in Toronto, Edmonton and Ottawa had already passed “smart regulations that embrace ridesharing.”
Mayor Bonnie Crombie said that Uber sent the council a letter stating their intention to cooperate, and she mentioned it as a “sign of progress and a show of good will”.
