Uber to pay transit accessiblity levy

The city and Uber have reached an agreement on how much the international ride-ordering company will cough up to help accessible transportation services in Ottawa.

Anthony Di Monte, the city’s general manager of emergency and protective services, said Wednesday said the two sides agreed that Uber will pay seven cents per ride.

Di Monte said he had “positive” negotiations with Uber and he credited the company for following through on its commitment.

The taxi and private transportation company regulations approved by council in April 2016 included a directive to staff to negotiate a “voluntary” per-ride levy to be collected from Uber to help fund accessible transportation services.

It was framed as a “good faith gesture” that would be made by private transportation companies, since those companies don’t have standards for accessible vehicles or accessibility training.

Di Monte was tasked to spearhead the negotiations for the city.

Now with the levy locked up, he can begin consulting with accessibility groups, including OC Transpo, to see how the money should be spent. He’ll eventually report back to council with a recommended approach.

Uber has been licensed to operate in Ottawa since Oct. 4, 2016. The per-trip accessibility charge will be considered in effect as of that date.

Based on Uber’s trip data from last October, the city is estimating $450,000 in revenue from the accessibility levy over the first year of Uber’s licensed operations.

The city has asked the province to legislate a mandatory accessibility surcharge for private transportation companies.

Uber fares won’t be affected by the new accessibility levy paid to the city. “Uber is committed to ensuring there is accessible transportation for everyone. We worked closely with city staff to reach this agreement which will help improve accessibility in the City of Ottawa,” Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said in an email.