Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Toronto: Toronto police will take an “active role” in cracking down on UberX should eight charges against drivers for the popular ride-hailing app stand up in court, the city’s top cop says.
Police Chief Mark Saunders has previously told reporters that dozens of charges filed against UberX drivers have been thrown out in court, making the problem of enforcing the service an issue for lawmakers rather than police.
On Friday, however, Saunders emerged from a face-to-face meeting with taxi industry officials and said that it has “come to light” that eight charges under section 39.1 of the Highway Traffic Act are still before the courts and could provide a legal precedent going forward should they result in convictions.
Section 39.1 of the Highway Traffic Act prohibits any driver from transporting a passenger for compensation unless they have a special licence to do so. The charges that were previously thrown out related to inadequate insurance and licensing.
“Before I said that all of the cases were thrown out and that this was an issue before the lawmakers but the reality is that this will now be an issue before the courts. If the outcomes are successful from a judicial perspective than we will take an active role in the enforcement against UberX,” Saunders said.
Saunders agreed to sit down with several representatives from the taxi industry in the wake of a massive protest Wednesday in which hundreds of cabbies drove slowly through the city in order to disrupt traffic and then staged a sit-in at the intersection of Bay and Queen streets.
Speaking with reporters at police headquarters on College Street, Saunders called the meeting “very constructive” but noted that he is “handcuffed” in terms of what he can do.
“My stance has shifted after meeting (taxi industry representatives) in the sense that I am anxious to see what the outcomes are (in court),” he said. “I don’t control the judicial system, though. We are the enforcement piece and we have to respond according to the law and until those laws are properly interpreted there is not much more we can do.”
City drafting new regulations
The city is currently in the process of drafting new regulations that will cover the entire ground transportation industry, including services like Uber.
Until those regulations come into effect, though, drivers who use their personal vehicles to pick up fares using the UberX platform are in contravention of existing bylaws as well as the provincial Highway Traffic Act.
So far the city has filed 192 bylaw charges against suspected UberX drivers, however police have been reticent to follow suit, despite increasing public pressure from taxi drivers.
On Friday, fleet operator Sam Moini told reporters that he is encouraged by what he perceives as a shift by Saunders towards a willingness to file charges but he said that more urgency is needed.
Taxi drivers have long contended that UberX’s ability to operate without commercial vehicle insurance allows it to charge impossibly low fares that threaten their entire industry.
“I understand the police chief’s stance of waiting for the court cases but if somebody runs a red light and takes it to court, does that mean we have to hold off on issuing tickets?” Moini asked. “The words can’t even come out how desperate people are. It’s not livable right now. (Taxi drivers) feel like they have been abandoned.”
