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It’s almost been two years since ridesharing giant Uber began operating in Saskatoon.
Councillors are set to review regulations Monday that could change how Saskatoon’s only ridesharing service operates in city limits.
There will be 12 different options considered.
Establishing a cap on the number of ridesharing vehicles, requiring in-vehicle cameras, requiring ridesharing vehicles to obtain an operating licence — similar to taxi drivers, and restructuring licensing fees to create parity among the industry are all included.
The options come after a roughly year-long consultation with taxi cab owners, ridesharing companies, taxi plate owners and United Steelworkers union leadership representing some taxi drivers.
Cab companies have complained of being held to a different standard with far more regulations compared to ridesharing services since Uber began operating in Saskatoon.
Other options include removing the vulnerable sector check as currently required in the Vehicles for Hire Act.
The purpose of a vulnerable sector check is to review for pardons for convictions, information not included in a standard criminal record check.
Other possibilities include establishing minimum sanitation and personal protective equipment standards, implementing a mandatory training program for taxi and ride-hailing drivers, requiring ride-hailing vehicles to offer wheelchair accessible services and increasing the maximum vehicle age from seven to 10 years.
The final three options are establishing a Saskatoon office for ridesharing services, stopping “dynamic pricing” and requiring ridesharing services to accept cash fares.
Uber complained that many of the options included go too far and are not happening in any other Canadian municipality where it currently operates.
The only option recommended by administration is to increase the maximum vehicle age of a standard taxi from seven years to 10 years, and for a wheelchair-accessible taxi from nine years to 10 years to align standards among ridesharing and taxis.
According to the report, there are 160 permanent taxi licences in Saskatoon, 35 enterprise taxi licences, five permanent wheelchair accessible taxi licences, 21 temporary wheelchair accessible taxi licences and four licensed taxi brokers.
There are approximately 400 licensed taxi drivers.
The issue will be discussed at the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation on Monday.