Deanne Pittman, Centretown News
Taxi drivers protest on Parliament Hill against the Uber ride-sharing service.Ottawa’s taxi union is now asking for more involvement from the federal government in resolving the ongoing ride-sharing controversy after multiple protests over the past few months, including a Feb. 2 rally of approximately 400 taxi drivers against Uber on Parliament Hill.
For the head of Ottawa’s taxi union, Amrik Singh, the situation is nothing short of distressing for the city’s cab drivers who are losing customers and jobs to unlicensed and illegal ride-sharing companies.
“We think it is (the federal government’s) fundamental duty when they see thousands and thousands of hard-working taxi drivers being destroyed by a foreign company,” said Singh. “It is the duty of every government to get involved to see why this is happening.”
Singh adds that the ride-sharing service has become uncontrollable.
“We are law-abiding citizens,” said Singh. “Any foreign company that comes to our city has to follow our laws.”
Bandit taxis, as they are called, are illegal under the City of Ottawa’s bylaws and bylaw officers have been charging Uber drivers who are operating without a taxi license. Deputy city manager, Susan Jones, estimates that 180 tickets have been issued since the service’s arrival in the city. Fines can range between $615 for unlicensed taxi drivers and $260 for the operation of unlicensed taxi cabs under the current taxi bylaw. Singh claims that more needs to be done in order to enforce the current bylaws.
“Do you know what they’re doing?” he said of Uber. “They’re showing everybody their middle finger.”
At the moment, a report is currently being written to reform current taxi regulations in the city. The report should be released in March, at the latest, according to Jones.
“In the interim, we’re continuing to enforce the main charges on illegal taxi activity,” added Jones.
The most recent protest came in light of the first-time legalization of ride-sharing services in Canada, in Edmonton.
The recent bylaw in Edmonton, that comes into effect on Mar. 1, requires Uber drivers to have provincially approved insurance and for Uber to pay a $50,000 annual fee to cover costs for its enforcement.
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Other cities, such as Toronto, are currently looking to legalize the service as well, according to Toronto Mayor John Tory.
Jones could not confirm whether Ottawa was on the same track of legalizing the service.
“We are meeting them regularly, asking for more enforcement,” said Singh of his union’s dealings with the City of Ottawa. “We are the people who are paying our taxes here.”
One Ottawa Uber driver, who asked not to be identified because of the City of Ottawa’s ongoing enforcement action against the company, said that the resentment to the ride-sharing service is understandable.
“I feel for them because they have families,” said the Uber driver. “They have to pay their mortgage and feed their families and it’s tough for them.”
“But at the same time, when they’re working, I’m working too. I need a job.”
The Uber driver, who depends on the ride-sharing service to make a living, claims that he serves the public interest.
He also claims that the difficulty of becoming a taxi driver prevents him from getting a mainstream job.
“You have to do an examination, you have to go to college and take a course and you have to go through an English test. That was hard for me. That’s why I work this job.”
Singh hopes in the end that Uber will be held accountable to the same insurance and licensing standards as mainstream taxi services.
“If they say they’re entering the aviation industry they’ll have old planes and untrained pilots,” he said.
“If you allow them to destroy the taxi industry, when does it stop?”