Uber is preparing to take legal action against the City of Surrey to sa国际传媒渄efend the right to access Ubersa国际传媒檚 appssa国际传媒� in this city despite what Mayor Doug McCallum says.
sa国际传媒淯ber has filed for an injunction with the Supreme Court of British Columbia to stop the City of Surrey from issuing illegal tickets,sa国际传媒� Michael van Hemmen, Ubersa国际传媒檚 Head of Western Canada, revealed in a press statement Tuesday. sa国际传媒淭he citysa国际传媒檚 actions are unfair to local residents who want to earn money and support their families, It is also unfair to those who need a safe, affordable and reliable ride.sa国际传媒�
He said the injunction being sought is based on two key points: The first is the City of Surrey doesnsa国际传媒檛 have the authority to prevent Uber and similar companies from operating here, and the second is that McCallum has publicly stated that even if there was a Transportation Network Service business licence sa国际传媒� which there is not sa国际传媒� the city will not issue a business licence to a ridesharing company.
On Monday McCallum told reporters 18 warnings had been issued to Uber drivers to desist. sa国际传媒淔or those who continue to operate in Surrey,sa国际传媒� McCallum said during a press conference at city hall, sa国际传媒渢here will no longer be any warning tickets and any violators caught will be ticketed and face a fine of $500.sa国际传媒�
The mayor argues that taxi drivers are also trying to support their families and need a sa国际传媒渓evel playing fieldsa国际传媒� with ride-hailing services.
A Tuesday press release from the ride-hailing company, which is locking horns with McCallum over its right to do business in Surrey, said the Uber app sa国际传媒渨ill continue to be available to the residents and visitors of Surreysa国际传媒� within its service area.
sa国际传媒淚t is highly unfortunate that the mayor is threatening drivers with fines that have no legal basis,sa国际传媒� Ubersa国际传媒檚 statement reads. It notes that Premier John Horgan and Transporation Minister Claire Trevena have been sa国际传媒渧ery clear that municipalities do not have the authority to prevent ridesharing companies from operating.sa国际传媒�
McCallum came out swinging Monday afternoon, calling a presser to outline the citysa国际传媒檚 position on Uber operating here without a business licence, to which Uber maintains there is no licence it sa国际传媒渃ould apply for or obtain.sa国际传媒�
According to provincial law, Uber notes, sa国际传媒渞idesharing is not taxi.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淯ber is supportive of the Inter-Municipal Business Licence,sa国际传媒� its statement reads, sa国际传媒渁nd looks forward to obtaining an IMBL when it becomes available.sa国际传媒�
McCallum has positioned himself as the champion of the cab industry. He told reporters the taxi industry faces a cap of 2,500 cabs in Metro Vancouver while ride hailing companies face no caps.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 not fair,sa国际传媒� McCallum said. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 no level playing field.sa国际传媒�
He said Uber and other ride-hailing operations sa国际传媒渃an apply for the same licence taxis apply for.
sa国际传媒淭here is an option to do that.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淎ll we want is a level playing field, and then we welcome ride hailing on an equal basis,sa国际传媒� McCallum said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 free enterprise.sa国际传媒�
On Monday night, Councillor Linda Annis presented a notice of motion instructing city staff to prepare a report on ride hailing for councilsa国际传媒檚 next meeting, sa国际传媒渨ith some recommendations.sa国际传媒�
McCallum said the city doesnsa国际传媒檛 want to end up in court over this. sa国际传媒淔rom Surreysa国际传媒檚 point of view, we will not be doing any court challenges of it, but we will defend our right to make sure that in our highly regulated industry the people that are involved, the corporations that are involved, are given the same level playing field.sa国际传媒�
On Tuesday, again at city hall, McCallum was once again peppered with questions on ride hailing, such as his response to Ubersa国际传媒檚 threat of legal action.
sa国际传媒淚 think we always received threats of legal action on a lot of tickets that our bylaw officers do,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 what all cities have.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淣o, I have no concerns,sa国际传媒� he told a reporter who asked about Ubersa国际传媒檚 threat. sa国际传媒淐ouncil just went over, probably over 150 lawsuits, on Monday, or I donsa国际传媒檛 say lawsuits but legal things against us. Big cities have those things. In fact Surrey has probably fewer than a lot of big cities, wesa国际传媒檙e the 12th largest in Canada. We get lawsuits all the time.sa国际传媒�
Meantime, David Clement, North American affairs manager for the Consumer Choice Center, which represents consumers in more than 100 countries, says going after Uber drivers sa国际传媒渄oes nothing but hurt consumer choice and put public safety at risk.
sa国际传媒淲e know from peer-reviewed research that for every month ride sharing is legal, impaired driving arrests decline by eight per cent,sa国际传媒� Clement said. sa国际传媒淢ayor McCallum may say that he is trying to protect community safety, but the reality is that he is just trying to protect the taxi industry from competition. This is cronyism on full display.sa国际传媒�
Bob Bose, who served as Surreysa国际传媒檚 mayor from 1988 until 1996, when he was defeated by McCallum, noted there has been no policy yet adopted by city council concerning the licensing of ride-hailing drivers and companies.
sa国际传媒淭he administration is acting, it would appear, solely on directives from the mayorsa国际传媒檚 office,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭his is an important policy issue and staff should not be ticketing providers of the service without an established policy framework, that requires council approval.sa国际传媒�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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