The one year pilot project allowing taxi app company Uber to operate legally in Quebec has begun.
On Friday, the Quebec transport commission issued an intermediate permit to operate taxi services, a requirement for the project to begin.
On Thursday, the Couillard government adopted a decree to modify the normal review process for such a permit, removing the right to contest it being issued. The change is due to the widespread protests against Uber that have been held by the taxi industry in the year preceding the pilot project.
Uber’s permit is valid until Oct. 14, 2017, after which it could be extended for one year.
Under the agreement, the company will pay a fee of $0.97 per client for the first 50,000 hours-worth of rides given. That fee increases to $1.17 until 100,000 hours of rides, after which it goes up again, to $1.33.
