TORONTO – Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is sending a clear message to Uber, telling them to “pick on someone their own size.”
The Ward 7 councillor issued a statement on Tuesday, inviting every taxi driver, fleet owner and dispatcher in the GTA to visit his constituency office at 11 a.m. on Wednesday to “formulate a proper strategy” in the ongoing taxi-UberX battle.
“I have organized the taxi industry and I am expecting hundreds, maybe thousands of taxi industry workers and people who support the taxi industry to come out in a display of strength. This issue will affect taxi workers in Toronto and all over the GTA, including Brampton, Mississauga and Vaughn,” Mammoliti said.
“Come tomorrow and join everyone in this City who wants to show Uber that they’re not welcome here unless they want to play by the same rules.”
Mammoliti has been a staunch advocate for the taxi industry and has started a petition which has gained over 1,600 signatures.
Uber also launched a petition earlier this week, asking its clients to contact city councillors to vote to keep the ride-sharing service in Toronto.
The petition has over 39,000 signatures.
“We would encourage Councillors Mammoliti and Karygiannis to look at how ridesharing is creating economic growth in their own ward’s and across our city and we believe that taxi and ridesharing can complement each other to better serve rider and driver needs in Toronto,” said Susie Heath, spokesperson for Uber Canada.
“The idea of one set of rules for all ground transportation has never made sense – limos, taxis, car sharing, school buses, horse drawn carriages, etc. all have different rules – and it doesn’t makes sense in this context either. Ridesharing is a new and distinct business model, rooted in technology and the sharing economy, and riders and drivers across the city have asked for it to be smartly regulated and permanently welcomed in Toronto.”
Last week, the Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee voted to eliminate sections of a new ground transportation report that would see services like UberX remain in Toronto.
The report will now be brought to city council on Sept. 30, where councillors will be able to reintroduce the removed recommendations.
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