Toronto looks to change bylaw to protect taxis vs. Uber

John Tory wants to "level the playing field" when it comes to the fierce competition between Toronto taxicabs and Uber. After a meeting with representatives from the city's cab companies and the technology company, the mayor noted that the city would likely file an appeal after a judge ruled that it didn't have the grounds to prevent Uber from operating in Toronto.

An emergency meeting of Toronto city council could happen as early as this week to debate the by-laws that govern the taxi industry. One of the chief sticking points is which side should budge: Tory's language sometimes indicates that existing by-laws should be loosened to help cab companies, while there are also loud calls for Uber to be treated as a cab operator.

In any case, it appears there won't be any major taxi strike or protest during the Pan Am Games. Be this on account of the fact that the mayor is in dialogue with the two sides or because the top brass at Toronto's cab companies understand that holding the city hostage would be a PR disaster, it's still good news.

Two thirds of city council would have to agree to an emergency meeting for it to take place. The odds of that happening aren't especially good, particularly with assurances from cab leaders that they will hold off on immediate protest activity.

Photo by Scott Snider