Expanded auto insurance covering Uber drivers and those working for similar companies could make finalizing a ride-sharing by-law in Windsor easier.
Supervisor of Licensing with the city Craig Robertson says it's one less hurdle to clear.
"If insurance is one of those requirements, it looks like it may not be as difficult to obtain that insurance as it was," says Robertson.
The province announced it was allowing insurance coverage to be extended to ride-sharing services on July 6.
Robertson says the province's involvement should lend greater weight to the city's eventual regulations.
"It's certainly encouraging that if we're put in a position where we do have to come up with regulations that there's some teeth to create those legislations from the upper government is certainly helpful," says Robertson. "It's definitely a lot easier if upper levels of government are on the same page as the municipality, it makes our job a little bit easier."
He says the insurance question when it came to ride-sharing services needed an answer.
"The insurance requirement was something that we were looking at if companies like Uber and that come into the city," says Robertson. "There was a challenge there of how that was going to happen and how that would be developed with companies."
Robertson says the city is using a consultant to develop a by-law to regulate ride sharing in the city and expects a report to be ready either by late summer or early fall.
