Watch above: A new driving service, Uber, launched in Edmonton on Thursday. But as Kent Morrison reports, it’s driving a fine legal line and not exactly getting a warm welcome.
EDMONTON – Uber announced the launch of its uberX service in Edmonton Thursday, amid ongoing debates about legal and licensing issues and concerns about safety.
The smartphone app connects customers with a driver. It operates as an alternative to taking a cab, public transit or driving yourself. The San Francisco-based company operates in more than 260 cities around the world, including Toronto and Ottawa.
On Thursday, uberX – the lowest cost option – was introduced in Edmonton.
“We’ve had a tonne of interest from both riders and drivers asking for our platform to be available here, and we’re really excited to deliver on that today,” said Jeff Weshler, General Manager of Regional Expansion for Uber Canada.
“By providing a service that responds to the needs of today’s riders and drivers, we are helping advance the way people and cities move.”
The launch included free rides, Goodwill donation pick-ups and former Edmonton mayor Bill Smith taking the first ride.
Garry Dziwenka, the director of the city’s business licensing and vehicle for hire department, said if Uber drivers start charging for rides, they would be operating illegally in Edmonton.
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“The City of Edmonton encourages new businesses in our city and wants them to prosper, but the operation of business must be legal, as citizens’ safety is our priority. We consider Uber to be bandit taxis until they get licensed.
“If Uber starts taking fares, we will enforce the same rules as we do for other bandit taxis.”
Dziwenka said Uber doesn’t require drivers to have a class one, two or four licence, which the Alberta Traffic Safety Act requires. He explained they would be considered bandit taxis because they don’t have a taxi license to operate in Edmonton.
“You must have a broker’s licence… you must be brokering five vehicles that have city plates, you must have your own colour, that sort of thing… the drivers have to be licensed by the city.”
He said the city will enforce the bylaw in a number of ways. He said undercover stings have resulted in 100 bandit taxi drivers being fined in Edmonton this year.
“If they’re caught operating an Uber taxi, they would be subject to a $1,000 fine under the Vehicle for Hire bylaw and a $400 plus fine under the Business Licence bylaw,” said Dziwenka.
“It’s not a big surprise for the industry,” said Balraj Manhas, president of the United Cabbies Association of Edmonton, “but we are shocked that city administration has failed to stop them working in Edmonton. We urge the city council and mayor to step in and put a stop order on this kind of service which wants to work illegally in the city.”
Weshler said Uber will continue to work with city officials and hopes to work collaboratively with them.
“We’ve had introductory conversations to date and we look forward to working with policy makers to make sure ride-sharing and new innovations have a permanent home here in Edmonton.”
He said the company takes steps to ensure users’ safety.
“Every driver on the platform has to undergo both an RCMP and local police background check as well as a motor vehicle record check. There’s a rating that takes place after every trip creating greater accountability than if you were to hop in a car randomly off the street.”
“You’ll know who your driver is, you’ll know where they are, and you’ll be able to get a reliable ride when you need one.”
Edmonton is the fifth Canadian city to get Uber services. Toronto has had it for three years, while Ottawa has had it for three months.
Dziwenka said conversations with Uber have been pleasant enough, but wouldn’t describe the company as “working with the city.”
“They met with me, they told me their business model, but they made it clear to me that they had no intention of being licensed. They consider themselves an app, a technology company, not a transportation company.”
In November, Uber representatives were in Edmonton meeting with potential drivers.
READ MORE: Uber flirts with Edmonton expansion, but city bylaw could stall progress
In September, Mayor Don Iveson asked city administration to review the app and the potential issues the service would have with the city’s current vehicle for hire bylaw.
Responding to concerns that its drivers are not adequately screened for past criminal convictions, Uber promised to focus on rider safety. In a blog post Wednesday, Uber’s head of global safety defended the company’s safety record but also wrote that “as we look to 2015, we will build new safety programs and intensify others.”
READ MORE: Amid scrutiny, Uber says it will focus more on safety
The taxi alternative, valued at $40 billion, faces multiples legal and regulatory challenges as it expands in the United States and abroad.
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