Sudbury councillor calls for taxi rules review ahead of Uber arrival

Morning North8:05Sudbury councillor wants city prepared for the arrival of Uber

A Sudbury city councillor wants to break the pattern of Uber versus the taxi companies that's followed the ride-sharing service from city to city. We spoke to city councillor Deb McIntosh about what she thinks needs to be done.While it has no plans to launch here yet, Uber is looking for drivers in Greater Sudbury.

Ward 9city councillor Deb McIntoshwants to be ready to avoid the political strifethat's followed the ride-sharing service to other cities.

"I don't think any of us wantUberto just arrive and then there be conflict," she said.

McIntoshhas tabled a motion for the Oct. 20 council meeting calling for staff to review the current taxi bylaws and report back in the spring on how ride-sharing services like Uber might fit in.

McIntosh sees this as an opportunity to improve public transportation in Greater Sudbury, and possibly have ride-sharing services filling in gaps in public transit in the outlying areas or maybe even providing city services like Handi-Transit.

"I don't know what the answers are. I think we should start looking at the whole thing now before we have a lot of angry people," she said.

Sharon Flinn, the co-owner of Lockerby Taxi, lobbied for this review of the current taxi system in Sudbury.

She worries that an unregulated competitor could take a big bite out of her business and jeopardize the jobs of her 80 employees.

"They could all of a sudden swarm and hit us with 100 drivers if needed," Flinn said of Uber.

Flinn is calling on the city to adjust the bylaw so that ride-sharing services are treated the same as taxi companies with requirements for driver licensing, insurance coverage and a regulations on how much a ride costs.

"So if they do come in, they're put on a level playing field with the other operators," she said.

McIntoshsaid her motion shouldn't be seen just as a defence of the local taxi industries.

"They're willing to adapt a new version of how we get around, but they want it to be fair," she said.

Uber has been advertising for drivers in Sudbury for the past month, but spokesperson Susie Heath said that doesn't mean they'll be hitting local roads any time soon.

"We have been advertising to potential driver partners so they can learn about the benefits of the Uber platform and so we may assess local driver interest. Gauging driver partner interest is an essential component of the analysis we undertake when considering expansion. We conduct advertising in cities all across Canada," Heath said in a statement.

"While we currently have no imminent plans to launch in Sudbury, we will continue to work collaboratively with officials at all levels of government as part of our ongoing process to continue to explore expansion in a number of cities across Canada."