Uber launches campaign to gather public support ahead of Ottawa city vote

OTTAWA – Uber Canada is launching a campaign to gain public support as Ottawa city council prepares for a vote on ride-booking services on April 13.

The company has been operating in Ottawa since October 2014 and says it wants Ottawa’s citizens to share their stories about the service.

It has set up the website supportuberYOW.com to collect the comments.

Ottawa is one of several cities where the city council has grappled with complaints that drivers using the Uber ride-hailing technology have an unfair advantage over the conventional taxi industry, which is heavily regulated.

In February, Ontario’s insurance regulator approved coverage for drivers using ride-hailing services such as Uber.

However, the Toronto Taxi Alliance and Canadian Taxi Association challenged the regulator on Wednesday to require insurance firms to report the number of policies actually sold and other details.