Vancouver taxi companies have announced that they are dropping their lawsuit against rideshare service company Uber Canada and its drivers.
The Vancouver Taxi Association launched the lawsuit in November, alleging Uber’s plans to set up shop in the city were illegal. The suit alleged that Uber did not plan on getting the appropriate licences from either the City of Vancouver or the Passenger Transportation Board.
Uber now said it does not have plans to operate in Vancouver.
“The Vancouver Taxi Companies are thankful to Uber for respecting and abiding by the laws in The Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, just as the Vancouver Taxi Companies have had to do for over 100 years,” the cab organization said in a release.
The group is not ruling out future legal action, however.
“If Uber announces in the future that it will be operating in the city in breach of the legal requirements for taxi service, the Vancouver Taxi Companies will refile their lawsuit to prevent this from happening,” it said.
“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 cab companies say following the laws in question protect the public interest.
At the time the lawsuit was launched, however, Uber said the taxi companies were simply looking out for their own interests and the organization was “protecting its own cartel, even at the expense of consumers and its own drivers.”
Uber services were available in Vancouver for a short period in 2012 before the company was forced to stop after it was determined that it was essentially a limo service and, as such, had to follow limo rules.
— With files from Jen St. Denis
