Uber threatens to end Quebec service

MONTREAL Ride-hailing company Uber said it will cease operations in Quebec in mid-October if the province insists on new rules governing the service introduced last week.

Uber’s Quebec general manager Jean-Nicolas Guillemette said Tuesday it considers those proposed changes major and added if Quebec doesn't revert to the terms of the original pilot project, it’ll shut down the service as of Oct. 14.

The pilot project allowing Uber to legally operate in Quebec went into effect in October 2016 and included the option of a one-year renewal.

Transport Minister Laurent Lessard announced the new rules last Friday in renewing the pilot project.

The company is opposed to the new rules that would see the number of training hours for drivers increased to 35 from 20 hours currently in place and subjecting drivers to background checks by police instead of private security firms.

Guillemette told a news conference that aside from a brief meeting in early September, the province didn’t consult with the company.

He said the new rules make it impossible for the service to continue in Quebec.

He called the 35-hours of required training — which regular cab drivers are subjected to — far beyond anything ridehailing companies have been subjected to elsewhere.

“What the province is trying to do is impose old rules on a new, completely different technological model,” he said.

Guillemette said, for example, the province wouldn’t ask Airbnb hosts to get certification from the province’s hotel management institute.

The company noted despite a few bumps, the first year of the project was successful with more than 8 million rides offered in the province.

Guillemette said the number of hours worked by an estimated 10,000 Uber drivers in Quebec last year were equivalent to 3,000 full-time jobs in the province.