Some Saskatoon taxi drivers rallied outside of city hall on Tuesday to raise concerns about proposed ride-sharing services coming to the city.
The Saskatchewan government recently introduced legislation to allow ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to operate in the province.
Taxi drivers are required to own a taxi license, install cameras, and maintain auto inspections.
They are concerned that the ride-sharing services would gain a competitive advantage by not having to meet the same standards.
The Saskatchewan Taxi Cab Association (STCA), which did not support the rally, is advocating a flex-service, which would be private vehicles driven by trained taxi drivers.
“It’s a local solution, letting our citizens now have a part-time position to put more cars on the road when our citizen need it,” STCA spokesperson Shondra Boire explained.
“It’s using our local people, local cars, and local jobs.”
The city’s transportation committee met on Tuesday to discuss ride-sharing in Saskatoon.
The committee decided it needed more information from city administration as to what a bylaw would look like and what effect it would have on all stakeholders before making any recommendations.
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