Karygiannis tells Pan Am visitors to ‘beware’ of uberX

Toronto:One Toronto city councillor says Pan Am Games visitors should steer clear of using services like uberX during their stay in Toronto unless they want to risk a massive fine.
Coun. Jim Karygiannis claims that Uber passengers could face a penalty of up to $20,000 for using the ride-hailing service.
“I want to warn Pan Am Games visitors that they risk being charged and fined up to $20,000 if they use any unlicensed bandit taxis like UBER in Ontario” Karygiannis said in a written statement released Tuesday.“Two weeks ago a judge ruled that passengers, not Uber, arranges rides with uberX drivers. It is this court ruling which now puts passengers at risk. UberX drivers are unlicensed taxis. Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act a person who arranges for a ride in an unlicensed taxi is guilty of an offence with a fine of not less than $300 and not greater than $20,000.”
The Ward 39 councillor added that his fellow council members recently voted to ask Toronto police to crack down on enforcing the Highway Traffic Act and all city bylaws.
“My advice to visitors and residents of Toronto is, when in doubt use a licensed taxicab,” his statement continued.
But Toronto police spokesperson Mark Pugash says the matter needs to be dealt with at city hall and has to be enforced by bylaw officers.
“Police won’t get involved in political issues,” Pugash said.Karygiannis’ warning comes just one day after Uber launched uberPOOL in Toronto, a carpooling option it says will help reduce gridlock and emissions during the Pan Am Games.
“With congestion expected to be a major pain point during the Games, we wanted to bring uberPOOL to Toronto as part of the solution to help residents and visitors move around our great city,” Uber said in its own statement released Monday.
According to the company’s website, uberPOOL allows passengers to share their ride and the cost with other passengers headed in the same direction.
To promote its new service, Uber is offering uberPOOL free of charge Tuesday for both the morning and evening rush hour.
“We introduced uberPOOL to help keep Toronto moving during the Pan Am Games, and the positive response from riders and drivers has been tremendous so far,” Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath said.