A group of nine Lower Mainland taxi companies took the Passenger Transportation Board to court last January, arguing it had acted unfairly in granting licences to Uber and Lyft.

'What’s happening is because of the decisions made by the former council. They have to change it. They have to change the way they manage the taxi industry.'

A spokesperson for Uber said the announcement by the province means "Halifax is now open for ridesharing." 

It's not clear that services like Uber and Lyft will be willing to enter the Halifax market under the rules passed by the municipality.

Lyft Inc said on Friday it would distribute some 60,000 vehicle partition shields to its most-active drivers as a protection against the coronavirus.

The City of Vancouver has signed off on inter-municipal rideharing licences for Lyft and Uber.

In a letter sent to Transportation Minister Claire Trevena, the companies say a Class 5+ licence could provide short-term work for those out of a job.

Uber on Wednesday said it would lay off 3,700 full-time employees, or roughly 17 per cent of its head count.

The new coverage area also includes Delta, Burnaby, the Tri Cities and all of Surrey and White Rock.

Residents of Metro Vancouver's Tri-Cities area will have access to both major ridesharing services, starting Monday.