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 Toronto is seeking an injunction to halt Uber's operations unless
the San Francisco-based company and all its drivers are licensed.
Uber is fighting for legal status worldwide, one jurisdiction at a
time, as authorities weigh the legality of its phone-based app, and
Uber drivers argue they should be treated as employees, not
independent contractors.
Outside city hall, taxi drivers parked three-deep and beeped their
horns, while others moved in a slow procession through downtown,
clogging much of the business district. The protesters fear the
threat that Uber represents to their livelihood.
Akhbar Banijamaat, who left Iran in the 1980s with his family and
has driven taxis in Toronto for 17 years, said the upstart company
should abide by the law.
"Some people support Uber, the mayor supports Uber," Banijamaat
said. "I don't mind Uber, I think it's a beautiful idea, to whoever
did it, very nice. But do it legal."
Despite Toronto's legal bid to regulate Uber, the city's mayor, John
Tory, says he accepts ride-hailing apps as part of the contemporary
landscape.
On Monday he said he hoped the parties could reach a negotiated
settlement ahead of the judge's ruling.
"Both (Uber and the taxi industry) are going to have to adapt
themselves to the reality of a fair and fairly-regulated industry
that focuses on serving the public better as opposed to suiting
themselves," Tory told Reuters.
The Toronto taxi-driving protesters focused their ire on UberX, a
budget option in which drivers use their personal vehicles, as a
threat to public safety. Uber's other service uses licensed drivers.
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Uber, which is valued at $40 billion, says it simply provides
technology allowing drivers and passengers to find each other and
should not be treated as a broker. It said the taxi protest was
counter-productive.
"Rather than blocking roads and preventing people from getting where
they need to be, we're focused on meeting the needs of Toronto's
riders and drivers, who are all too often left out of the debate,"
said Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie
Heath, adding that Uber wants to help "create a sensible regulatory
framework for ridesharing."
The hearing continues. The case is court file no. CV-14-516288.
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Leslie Adler and Tom Brown)
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