Uber petition draws support ahead of Toronto council vote

More than 20,000 people have signed Uber's online petition urging city council to legalize the ride-hailing service in Toronto.

The California-based company launched a website and petition Monday calling on council to adopt city staff recommendations for UberX, the popular ride-bookingservice that allows anyone to earn money by providing rides to willing customers.

The petition had 24,679 signatures as of 5:30 p.m.

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In a report released last week, city staffproposed UberX and similar servicesbe included in updated taxi and limousine regulations, the creation ofa new licensing category for ride-hailing servicesand for taxi fares be dropped by $1 to $3.25 to make traditional cabs more competitive.

But many taxi drivers, backed by councillors Jim Karygiannis and Giorgio Mammoliti,are pushing to havethe service banned from the city, altogether.

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Uber's petition says detractors "are attempting to end ride-sharing in Toronto by pushing city council to reject the creation of a regulatory framework that gives residents more options, creates jobs and supports innovation."

Toronto Taxi Alliance spokesmanSamMoini told CBC News last week thatcreating a licensing category for UberX willmean the "death of the industry."

"The taxi industry and Uber provide the same service," he said. "We provide a service of transportation from point A to point B with a vehicle. Why should there be two sets of rules for the same service?There should be one set of rules for all."

Council will vote on the issue Sept. 30.