Uber’s been having a rough, scandal-ridden 2017, which wasn’t helped when the company lost its license renewal to operate in London over corporate responsibility concerns and the company’s history of not reporting criminal offenses. While the company tries to save that license (a move bound to be noticed by other cities, should London’s demands be met), Uber is playing hardball with the entire Canadian province of Quebec and saying it will cease operations there by mid-October unless new training rules are rescinded.
Quebec’s Transport Minister Laurent Lessard said last week that Uber would only be allowed to continue operating in the province if its drivers underwent the same 35 hours of training that traditional taxi drivers take. Quebec Uber boss Jean-Nicolas Guillemette, who heads up Uber’s Quebec arm, complained that the province didn’t consult with the company before raising the number of training hours and called it a “deal breaker” while noting that none of Canada’s other cities in which Uber operates had training requirements rules.
“Trying to impose on us the same thing that is currently done in the old taxi industry, I don’t think it will help us to move forward,” Guillemette said.
Asked about Uber potentially leaving the province, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said, “Frankly we need to have some regulation and if they threaten to leave I don’t care.”
Since its founding, Uber has argued that it isn’t a traditional transportation company and shouldn’t be beholden to outdated regulations. Opponents have argued that Uber not complying with the same licensing system as the taxi industry puts the public at risk.
(Via Washington Post & TechCrunch)