Toronto taxi, ride-hailing companies ask to be included in city's 'Buy Local' campaign

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 6:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Three Toronto taxi companies and 1 ride-hailing service are urging assembly to see their manufacture successful the city's recently adopted "Buy Local, Buy Canadian" campaign as U.S. tariff threats continue.

And they privation assembly to prohibition the usage of U.S. based ride-sourcing apps connected metropolis spot oregon for metropolis business.

Managers of Beck Taxi, Co-op Cabs, Toronto 1 Taxi and Canadian ride-hailing level HOVR, each of whom signed a missive to assembly connected Monday, accidental spending connected section services encourages section economical development.

The managers say U.S. tech companies, including Uber, person taken implicit excessively galore Canadian markets by using lobbying efforts to reshape municipal rules governing vehicles-for-hire.

"Canadian companies tin easy measurement successful to link Torontonians with their adjacent thrust home," the missive says.

"Local companies volition enactment with municipalities to enactment common-sense protecting nationalist safety, beforehand affordability and foster a healthy, divers manufacture — alternatively than trying to dismantle them."

On Feb. 5, assembly passed a question to make a broad program that would impulse Toronto residents and businesses to enactment section companies successful effect to the tariffs threatened by the U.S. The "Buy Local, Buy Canadian" run is an effort to support Toronto jobs, according to the question that passed.

The missive says galore section taxi companies and HOVR connection app-based ride-hailing and payments. Beck, for example, has its ain app that operates successful a akin manner to different ride-hailing companies. 

The missive besides urges assembly to follow "partnership, procurement and unit reimbursement" policies that prioritize section vehicle-for-hire companies, though it doesn't see examples of what those policies mightiness look like.

Uber says drivers, transportation radical are Canadians

In effect to the letter, Uber Canada spokesperson Keerthana Rang said Uber drivers and transportation radical are Canadians. Uber Canada is tally by Canadians for Canadians, Rang said.

"There are 180,000 drivers and transportation radical who gain wealth connected Uber successful this country. They live, they work, they walk successful this country," Rang said.

There are besides 5,000 unit successful Canada who enactment connected Uber's ride-hailing and transportation platform, Rang added.

But Kristine Hubbard, operations manager for Beck Taxi Limited, said successful an interrogation connected Monday the metropolis needs to bash much to enactment Toronto-based taxi companies.

"Every taxi you spot is simply a tiny independent, licensed concern successful the city, successful this country, and so, I bash deliberation if we're talking astir supporting section Canadian businesses, tiny businesses successful particular, this is the cleanable opportunity," Hubbard said.

"Let's halt supporting these elephantine tech companies who are siphoning wealth retired of our country."

Hubbard said it's hard for drivers and transportation radical who enactment for Uber and Lyft to gain a surviving based connected the apps. She besides said Uber is clogging up Toronto streets and taking wealth from the TTC.

"When you usage the Uber app, you mightiness wage $30, but the drivers are getting $12 and the remainder is going retired of our country."

City 'examining' vehicle-for-hire services

In a connection connected Monday, Zeus Eden, spokesperson for the bureau of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, said the city is "closely examining" vehicle-for-hire services and has sent a rideshare licensing program backmost to unit for review. 

"We are reviewing options with the Mayor's Economic Action Team astir however champion to enactment workers and businesses successful each sectors successful effect to Donald Trump's unjustified commercialized war." 

Eden said the politician supports taking a "Team Canada approach" and encourages Toronto residents to consider buying Canadian successful their regular purchases.

Thorben Wieditz, of RideFairTO, a non-profit enactment that advocates for just rules successful the ride-hailing concern successful Toronto, said including the manufacture successful the "Buy Local, Buy Canadian" run would beryllium a measurement toward making the manufacture much fair.

"We enactment this letter. It would beryllium an important intervention," helium said.