A lawsuit filed amid rumours that ride-sharing service Uber was planning a Vancouver launch has been dropped.
The four taxi companies behind the suit confirmed they’re pulling the plug because Uber appears to have heeded government warnings not to operate without proper licensing.
If Uber does launch illegally, the taxi companies said they will refile their lawsuit.
“We hope that will not be necessary and that if Uber decides to operate in the City, it will do so in compliance with the legal requirements,” the Vancouver Taxi Association said in a release.
“Those legal requirements are necessary to protect the public interest in safe and reliable taxi services and cannot be ignored as Uber previously indicated it intended to do.”
The lawsuit argued operating unlicensed would give Uber an unfair edge over taxi companies.
In B.C., taxi and rideshare operators have to be licensed by the Transportation Safety Board. They also need to have a National Safety Code safety certificate, conduct semi-annual vehicle inspections, and obtain proper commercial insurance.
Uber has said it considers safety a top-priority, and that it applies background checks and insurance standards that “meet or exceed” what’s required of taxis in the cities it operates in.
