The City of Guelph is getting ready to tackle the thorny issue of shared economy services such as Uber and Airbnb.
A report heading to council's Committee of the Whole on Oct. 3 is recommending a review of the city's Business Licencing By-Law so that the city can take over administration, monitoring and enforcing of taxi cabs in the city.
That is currently done by the Guelph Police Service.
"A component of the proposed Business Licensing Bylaw review will be coordinated with work currently underway regarding the shared economy, which includes drive share," said a city release.
The city previously passed a motion last April directing staff to review policies surrounding shared economy and how best to incorporate it into city by-laws.
"The city, along with several municipalities and community partners, is currently developing and testing a replicable template or ‘how-to’ guide to influence local sharing economy policies and regulatory framework. This proposed approach was introduced and endorsed at a Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario meeting this past August," the release said.
The city is taking over taxi administration in the city because it is not seen "as a core duty of a police service."
"In fact, Guelph is one of only a handful of municipalities in Ontario continuing to delegate its authority to police services,” says Doug Godfrey, acting manager of Operations. “With a mandate to license businesses in Guelph, the City is in a position to take on these licensing duties.”
