The gallery was full at Windsor City Hall for a discussion on Uber and possible bylaw changes to accommodate the ride sharing service.
The company has been operating illegally in Windsor for a year now and taxi cab drivers in the city are not happy.
Unifor Local 195 represents 336 unionized taxi drivers working for Vets Cab. First VP John Toth says they aren't opposed to Uber operating in the city.
"We have four or five companies that compete in this market and they all abide by the exact same rules. What we disagree with is that Uber would be allowed to come in, provide what is essentially the exact same service but not have to comply with those same rules that everybody else is," says Toth.
However, Toth agrees that the bylaws could use some updating saying, "we're not suggesting that the bylaws as they exist now are perfectly acceptable to everybody, they're certainly not. Two years a go as a matter of fact, we came to city council asking them to take a comprehensive look at the bylaws. At that time the city chose not to do a comprehensive review of the bylaws. That was a real opportunity that was missed to be proactive, now we're being reactive."
Policy Manager for Uber Canada, Chris Schafer says his goal is to make sure municipalities and Uber as well as the taxi industry, can come to an agreement. "That's where my energy is focused on is getting Windsor to the point where they have adopted bylaws that embrace ride sharing in Windsor."
Public Policy Manager for Uber, Chris Schafer speaks at a Windsor city council committee meeting, November 23, 2016 (Photo by AM800's Kristylee Varley)
Members of the city's Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Committee felt it was too big of an issue to make a recommendation to council, so the matter will go to council for more debate and discussion in about a month.
Recommendations that will go to council include putting a liming on the number of Uber drivers that can operate in the city.
In July, Ontario's insurance regulator approved a policy for private vehicles transporting paying passengers through the ride-sharing service. It covers all Uber drivers, passengers and vehicle owners when Uber is in use.