How Are Uber Technologies Be Regulated?

Uber Technologies Inc. is a multimillion dollar ridesharing service which operates around the world using a smartphone app and works similar to a conventional taxicab service, with some noticeable differences. Specially, Uber allows users to request rides exclusively through its app, which not only has information about the driver and the route to be taken, but also provides an estimated fare which is directly charged to the costumer’s credit card after the service is completed. All these features make Uber convenient, easy to use and in some cases even cheaper than a regular taxi because it cuts the overheads that a fully licensed and regulated taxi company would have [1].
It is because of this reason that conventional taxicab drivers have

First of all, as mentioned before Uber is a new service, and most cities don’t have specific regulation that apply to ridesharing apps. Uber has been operating in Canada for a couple of years, and was not until May of this year that in Toronto, a by-law was passed to try to regulate this service. Toronto then became the first city to grant a vehicle-for-hire licence in Canada [3], but what about other cities in the GTA. Cities like Oakville and Vaughan have decided to let Uber work, while their city councils start to look at ways to regulate Uber. Other cities such as Brampton decided to completely suspend the company’s operations until the city reviews and considers new regulations and rules [4]. Uber, like any other driving service should have rules and regulations to ensure they provide an appropriate service to the

Some of the new regulations include that Uber is now required to provide background checks of their drivers to the city, also a 30 cent fee will be added to trips and remitted to the city, Uber rides are now required to have a minimum fare of $3.25, and drivers are required to have the same level of insurance as a normal taxi [8]. In addition, regulations for taxicab were also reviewed, making them less strict. For example, drivers are not longer required to attend training programs and CPR classes as well as not required to use snow tires during the winter [8]. Although it is a step forward, what can be seen as regulations to control the service provided by Uber can also be seen as giving taxi drivers what they wanted while making their own regulations less severe. Rules should apply for everyone that is providing the same