About the Blog:

Guelph Politico is locally sourced and dedicated to covering the political and cultural scene in the City of Guelph. Est. 2008.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Guelph Police Arrest Uber Driver


In the case of the legal grey area that Uber operates in, Guelph Police Service drew first blood last night with an arrest of a 50-year-old Uber driver downtown. 

According to the GPS website
On Saturday September 12, 2015 at 11:00 p.m., the Guelph Police conducted a traffic stop with a vehicle on Macdonell Street. Investigation determined that the driver was picking up fares as an Uber cab. A 50-year-old male has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act with passenger pickup for compensation without authority. Its a $365 fine.
Guelph was one of four new Canadian jurisdictions that Uber was introduced into this past July. This month's Police Services Board meeting is supposed to tackle the question of what to do about Uber in the Royal City, so perhaps the police are sending an early message about just what direction that response is going to go in. On the other hand, maybe it was an arrest of opportunity, as Uber drivers saw dollar signs with the first weekend of the university/school year and a packed downtown there was more concentrated opportunity for police to make an arrest. It will be interesting to see just where the police might take their official response to Uber at this point.

1 comment:

Taxine said...

What assurances do we have that Uber screens their drivers for criminal records, ensures they have adequate insurance to cover customers, and maintains their vehicles for safety?