Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum is not worried, even though Uber is making good on threats to take legal action against the City of Surrey.
The ride-hailing company has filed an Injunction application in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, to “stop the City of Surrey from issuing illegal tickets”.
Michael van Hemmen, Uber’s Head of Western Canada says the city’s crackdown on drivers operating in Surrey is ultimately hurting residents.
“The city’s actions are unfair to local residents who want to earn money and support their families,” Hemmen states in a release. “It is also unfair to those who need a safe, affordable and reliable ride.”
The Mayor of Surrey says he isn't worried, as Uber makes good on its threat of taking legal action against the City
It comes after Doug McCallum doubled down on threats to fine ride-hailing drivers $500 for operating in the city
Uber has filed an injunction with the B.C. Supreme Court to stop Surrey from issuing tickets against drivers
But McCallum says when it comes to the legal challenge, he’s not concerned.
“We get lawsuits all the time, we haven’t done our curbs right,” he says. “Or even in business cases, they don’t have licences. We put stop-work orders on developments that don’t have the proper permits. So we face that.”
He says while the province has given Uber the green light, drivers still need a licence to operate.
“We feel that ride-hailing or especially Uber, is not abiding by our bylaws. It does not have a business license at this time to operate in Surrey,” he says. “We expect that all businesses commercial ride-hailing companies will respect our bylaws and will get a business licence.”
Uber also cited Premier John Horgan and the Minister of Transportation, who have stated municipalities do not have the authority to stop ride-hailing companies from operating.
There is no mention of pulling back drivers of Surrey, with the service stating “Uber will remain available in Surrey.”
That’s despite threats from Surrey’s Mayor Doug McCallum, who has said any driver caught picking up a customer in his city will face fines of up to $500.
Uber reiterates there is a desire to work with municipalities, but adds “Uber must stand up when drivers and riders are being bullied and intimidated, especially when the province has confirmed drivers have the legal right to use Uber’s app and to earn money driving with the app.”
The injunction is based on two key points, that the City does not have the power to stop companies like Uber from operating and that Mayor Doug McCallum has publically stated the City will not be issuing a business licence to any ride-hailing company.
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT:
Meanwhile, Uber’s PR machine has gone into over drive. Comments have been placed on the mayors twitter account accusing him of taking bribes.
Also disabled Taxi users (Uber have no accessible vehicles for disabled in Surrey) saying in interviews how badly they are treated by Taxi drivers refusing to help or just not stopping.
We had the same here in London when a fake news team put out a ridicules item on ITV news showing a wheelchair user flagging cabs that were not stopping. They were not stopping because she was told to flag only Taxis with passengers in which had their lights off.
It all cane a tumble when I driver dropped off just yards passed her and went back to pick her up. The actress said no it’s OK I don’t want a Taxi, we are just filming for ITV news.
The actress has since apologised to the Taxi trade saying she didn’t realise what the news team were doing.
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