Despite a spirited debate and a last-ditch effort to delay a final decision, city council on Monday night officially gave the green light for ride-sharing services such as Uber to operate in Orillia.
The decision was not an easy one.
Early Monday morning, Face Drive, an environmentally-friendly ride-sharing company touted at last week’s council committee meeting by Coun. Jay Fallis, made an official request to the city to be selected as Orillia’s exclusive ride-share service for a two-year pilot project.
Coun. Ted Emond said the company’s proposal “needs some investigation.”
He said FaceDrive was happy to compel its drivers to undergo a vulnerable sector check (VSC) - a key condition that city council had included in its approval of ride-sharing services almost two years ago.
It was that condition, among other factors, that prompted Uber to black out service in Orillia. They would not compel their drivers to get VSCs.
At last week’s council committee meeting, a majority of council agreed to remove that requirement, cut fees to ride-share services and taxi companies by 20% and also remove some conditions related to service levels of vehicles and other items.
Emond wanted to defer a decision to give staff time to evaluate the last-minute proposal.
City CAO Gayle Jackson suggested staff would not likely be able to return with a comprehensive report until mid-May.
She also noted that the Municipal Act has stipulations against a municipality offering exclusivity to a contractor. That would mean the city’s solicitor would have to weigh in on the matter, she said.
In the end, Emond dropped his request to postpone the decision. But Fallis took up the cause and, with the support of Coun. Tim Lauer, asked his council colleagues to postpone the decision.
“This literally just came in this morning,” Fallis said of the FaceDrive proposal, noting councillors had “very little opportunity to go over it in any detail.
“At the very least, let’s take a week or two to digest it and understand some of the implications.”
Lauer said the decision is important and worth pondering further.
“We only have one chance to get it right,” said Lauer, who has concerns about one provision of the new bylaw that allows drivers to accumulate 15 demerit points before facing repercussions.
“Uber is not going to be here in the next month,” said Lauer. “I’m pretty sure we can afford a couple of weeks to get it a little better than we have it now.”
However, the postponement failed.
In the end, a majority of council voted in favour of the new bylaw that would pave the way for ride-sharing services such as Uber.
“All the questions have been answered,” said Coun. Rob Kloostra, who stressed Uber has a global policy that does not allow its drivers to pick up unaccompanied minors below age 18. “I would just like to move forward.”
Coun. Ralph Cipolla said that while he would have preferred to force drivers to undergo a VSC, he said it’s time for council to act.
“We must listen to what the people are saying,” said Cipolla, noting he’s received a “substantial number” of emails and phone calls about the issue. “Citizens expect us to support Uber.”
That sentiment was echoed by Coun. Pat Hehn, who applauded the regulation that would force drivers of ride-sharing services and taxis who want to give rides to minors to undergo a VSC.
“In a perfect world, I’d rather we stick to our guns and insist on a vulnerable safety check, but we don’t live in a perfect world,” said Hehn.
Mayor Steve Clarke said safety is a critical issue. He said forcing people to wait for a cab for up to two hours at night has prompted people to make poor decisions and has put people at risk.
The city’s new bylaw represents “a wonderful compromise,” said Clarke.
“I do believe we’ve been dealing with this two years, the provisions in this are rational and provide a level of protection,” said Clarke.
While it took longer than many people would have liked, Uber supporters were happy with council’s decision.
“I’m extremely pleased that the majority of council voted in favour of progress,” said Derick Lehmann, who spoke in favour of the service at earlier public meetings.
“I hope that Uber applies for a licence quickly to help alleviate the public transportation problems we have in the city,” he told OrilliaMatters.
City staff previously said that Uber Canada representatives told them they would apply to operate in Orillia this year if council endorse the new regulations.
