Mississauga Bans Uber

Bad news, everyone (well, depending on your perspective).

Mississauga has banned UberX and other ridesharing services — at least for now.

According to a recent article in the Toronto Star, Mississauga council has suspended all ride-sharing services, including the hotly debated (and popular) UberX. After delaying making a decision on the pressing matter, council voted today to order all non-traditional taxi companies to cease picking up passengers. The Star also reports that new rules (not Uber-friendly ones) were adopted. As of now, ride-sharing services that want to operate in the city have to follow the same rules and regulations that traditional taxis and limos are subject to.

While things look bleak for Uber, The Star reports that relatively pro-ridesharing Mayor Bonnie Crombie has indicated there’s still hope for the embattled service. If Uber and other services suspend operations immediately, council has said that they’ll form a committee to look at a ridesharing pilot project. If Uber complies with the order, the committee will come back to council in September with some ideas regarding the possible initiative.

While the news might come as a surprise to residents who thought Mississauga would follow Toronto’s lead and legalize the service, it’s been clear for a while that the public vehicle advisory committee (PVAC) and several city councillors were never on board with the app-based service.

We’ll see if Uber agrees to suspend operations (it pulled out of Calgary entirely when that city passed similar regulations) and if a fall pilot project will help bring ridesharing to Mississauga — legally and officially.

Everything You Need to Know About the Uber Ban in Mississauga
Today, the City of Mississauga sent out a press release outlining the basic facts surrounding council’s May 11 decision to effectively ban (for now) TNCs (transportation network companies). Read more