Six Uber drivers guilty of violations

Six Uber drivers pleaded guilty Thursday to operating a taxi without a licence, the latest in a string of convictions as bylaw officers crack down on unregulated drivers.

During a brief court appearance, five of the six were fined $750 and promised never to break the taxi bylaw again by driving for Uber.

The sixth driver had a previous conviction so he was fined $1,250, said Stuart Huxley, the city’s lawyer.

“Other individuals that are planning to engage as unlicensed taxi drivers hopefully will learn from the lessons of matters like today,” Huxley said.

Two more Uber drivers charged under the city’s taxi bylaw are expected to appear in court on March 31.

Since the city started charging unregulated drivers in October 2014, 71 have pleaded guilty to 141 taxi bylaw charges and paid fines totalling $52,000. In total, 174 charges have been laid against 78 Uber drivers.

Susie Heath, a spokeswoman for Uber Canada, said in a statement that Superior Court rulings in Ontario and Alberta demonstrate that ride-sharing is a new transportation model in need of a new regulatory framework.

Heath said Uber Canada was encouraged by Edmonton when it became the first city in Canada to regulate ride-sharing.

“We believe that a regulatory solution is the best path forward,” Heath wrote. “That’s why, over the last year, we have been working with (Ottawa) Mayor (Jim) Watson, council and the City of Ottawa to update regulations that will benefit all of us in the ground-transportation market, and we look forward to the new bylaws expected this spring.”

The city’s review of the taxi and limousine bylaws, and possible regulations to deal with the emergence of Uber, is ongoing.

The presence of Uber in Ottawa has affected the morale of taxi drivers and has taken away some of their livelihood, they say.

Taxi drivers have told the Citizen their take-home pay has fallen between 25 and 30 per cent.