Ottawa councillor wants all ridesharing vehicles to have decals

A City of Ottawa councillor has stated he wants Uber and Lyft drivers to have clear signage on their vehicles that proves they’re legitimate.

This request has come after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man claiming to be an Uber driver.

At the city’s community and protective services committee meeting on May 17th Councillor Riley Brockington raised a motion that would have the city look at its taxi by-laws. He wants ridesharing companies such as Uber, Lyft and Instarydes to have to display some form of decal that clearly marks their cars as part of the service.

According to the CBC, even if this motion gets picked up the city wouldn’t start its by-law reviews until 2019.

Since it will take so long to see a change in Ottawa, Brockington plans to write to Uber and Lyft to ask them to apply decals to their fleets in the city by choice, according to the CBC.

Ottawa didn’t state in its bylaws that ridesharing vehicles needed stickers because it was worried people would hail them on the street. In Ottawa, only taxis are allowed to be hailed on the road.

Currently Uber doesn’t require its drivers place a decal on their vehicle, which the company calls a ‘trade dress,’ unless the drivers are operating at a few specific locations. Drivers can order a ‘trade dress’ from Uber’s website here. 

Lyft drivers can have a small light on the front or rear dashboards in their cars that helps signify that they are registered drivers. Currently, this light is only optional, but it’s sent to drivers who have completed a specific number of rides.

Source: CBC