Mississauga legalizes Uber and Lyft with permanent regulations

The City of Mississauga has announced that ride-sharing apps will permanently be legal in the city.

Lyft, Uber, and Facedrive were already operating in the city, but the permanent regulations for the companies were approved on June 5th.

There were around 10 million ‘vehicle-for-hire’ trips reported in 2018 in Mississauga, Ontario, according to insauga.com. This was an increase of 7.7 million trips since ride-sharing apps began operating in 2014.

City officials have said they will level the playing field by supporting the taxi industry, but due to a high satisfaction rate with transportation network companies (TNC), they will implement permanent regulations.

A TNC Licensing Pilot Program run by the city acknowledged that there was a 92 percent satisfaction rate with Lyft, Uber and Facedrive. The TNC also met the requirements with a compliance rate of 98 percent.

“Our pilot project allowed us to test and evaluate our plan for regulation requirements. The results are positive. Based on the outcome, we can now put permanent regulations in place for TNCs that will enhance consumer protection and public safety,” said Geoff Wright, commissioner of transportation and works, to insauga.com.

The regulations will take effect this summer.

The news of the legalization comes as British Columbia is still struggling to legalize ride-sharing services, as British Columbians are still unable to use apps like Lyft or Uber.

In January, the City of Vancouver is discussed whether Uber and Lyft should be charged mobility fees, or taxes, on top of what the companies already charge passengers.

Source: insauga.com