Image: Daniel Thomas

Halifax Regional Council has rejected a bylaw change that called for more oversight of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, choosing instead to take a closer look at the issue.

Under the current rules, there are different oversight requirements for ride-hailing drivers and those who drive regular taxis and limousines. While taxi drivers must submit the results of all background checks to the city, ride-hailing drivers hand the results to the ride-hailing companies.

In December, a staff report to council recommended changing the rules to require ride-hailing drivers to submit their background checks to the city, bringing them in line with the taxi industry.

On Tuesday, councillors voted against the proposal but endorsed a motion from Mayor Andy Fillmore to have a committee prepare a report on how other jurisdictions are handling training, auditing and compliance. The committee would include representatives from ride-hailing companies, the regional government and the taxi industry.

Before the meeting, Uber Canada made it clear the company opposed the proposed changes, saying Halifax already has the authority to request documents to determine whether ride-hailing drivers are complying with applicable laws. The company also argued the proposed rules were overly bureaucratic and would lead to higher fares.

Uber Canada spokesperson Keerthana Rang issued a statement Monday saying the company wants to avoid regulations that could impede access to flexible work for drivers and reliable transportation for riders.

Source: CBC Canada

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Image: Waymo

Waymo, the California-based autonomous driving company owned by Google parent Alphabet, has confirmed it is engaging with Australian officials about its autonomous vehicles.

In a statement provided to Zag Daily, a Waymo spokesperson said: “Waymo has global ambitions. We actively engage with regulators and lawmakers around the world, including Australian officials, to explain our technology and advocate for policies that would allow us to serve riders just as we do in the U.S.”

The comment follows online reports that Waymo is accelerating plans to launch a robotaxi service in Australia as early as this year and that the company has held discussions with electric vehicle makers and the New South Wales Government. Waymo did not confirm those reports and declined to provide specifics on the nature, timing or stage of any discussions with federal or state governments.

Any Australian deployment would require regulatory approval. Testing autonomous vehicles on public roads is currently governed by state and territory permit schemes, while the federal government is working towards a national automated vehicle safety framework due to be introduced later this decade.

Source: Zag Daily

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Hyundai to Test Driverless Taxis in Las Vegas

As part of a joint venture with its Motional driverless tech division, Hyundai Motor Group will deploy a fleet of Ioniq 5 electric vehicles as robotaxis to take tourists and locals around the region. The SUVs are designed to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), including crash avoidance and occupant protection.

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JFK to Midtown for Only $800: NYC Taxi Hustlers Running Wild at Airport Terminals

As Tabitha Abed and her husband cleared customs at JFK Airport after 14 hours of travel from Kenya, the excitement of visiting New York City for the first time cut through their exhaustion. But they quickly received a type of Big Apple welcome that authorities have been unable to stop for decades. A man approached the couple in the international arrivals area after they left baggage claim, posing as a cabbie, and offered to give them a ride to their hotel in Times Square.

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Rep. Laura Gillen Pushes $45 Million Tech Contest to Make Cars Stop Drunk Drivers

Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen is driving a bipartisan push to stop drunks from driving and strengthen a national tracking system of drug-involved car crashes. The Drunk Driving Prevention and Enforcement Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), is intended to help make a 2021 law requiring anti-drunk driving tech in cars a reality.

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Montreal-Area Public Transit Agency Exo Cutting Jobs amid Sector-Wide Budget Crunch

Exo’s 2026 budget includes cutting its workforce by about 11 per cent, or 73 jobs, as it reduces its overall budget by 0.4 percent compared to the previous year

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Toronto Cyclists Set to Defend Bike Lane Challenge Before Ontario's Top Court

The cyclists, including a bike courier and a university student, have so far successfully argued the unproven plan to improve traffic by taking out protected bike lanes is an unconstitutional risk to their safety. The Court of Appeal for Ontario will hear the provincial government's appeal of the case on Wednesday.

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On the Rise: Insurance Telematics in Europe and North America

Canada is among the fastest-growing markets for usage-based insurance, according to the latest Insurance Telematics in Europe and North America. "Europe and North America represent two major markets when it comes to insurance telematics programs and active policies, and the front-running national markets include the US, Italy, Germany, Canada and the UK,” the report's authors wrote.

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Rural Ireland Suffers from Lack of Taxis

Rural Ireland continues to suffer from a lack of available taxis, according to Freenow. Representatives from the taxi app are due to appear before the Oireachtas Transport Committee to speak about issues facing the taxi industry.

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London’s Robotaxi Trials: What We Know So Far

London is gearing up to launch its first driverless taxi trials this Spring. Robotaxis will be tested on public roads across tens of boroughs, ahead of pending national regulation later this decade.

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New £3,500,000,000 Ferry Linking Scotland and France Could Finally Set Sail

A new ferry service directly linking Scotland and France could launch later this year as the port of Dunkirk embarks on a €40bn (£35bn) regeneration project. The plans include a proposed cargo and passenger route from Rosyth in Fife to Dunkirk, eight years after the last freight ferries connected Scotland to mainland Europe.

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Autonomous Taxis Set for Test Runs in Kazakhstan

The three-year initiative will be implemented in phases in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, the Astana city administration, and ride-hailing companies inDrive and Yandex Qazaqstan. During the initial phase, autonomous driving technologies will be tested at a dedicated proving ground, alongside the development of routes and supporting infrastructure.

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Larnaca Taxi Federation Suspends Indefinite Airport Strike after Government Talks

Just hours before a planned indefinite walk-out that threatened to paralyse passenger flows at Cyprus’ busiest gateway, the Pancyprian Federation of Urban Taxis announced on the evening of 26 January that it was ‘calling off, for now’ its strike at Larnaca International Airport. The decision followed an emergency meeting with the Department of Road Transport and assurances that MPs on the House Transport Committee would open formal consultations on ride-hailing legislation next week.

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India: Bike Taxi Gets Court Nod, Government Faces Fresh Pressure to Frame Clear Rules

After months of opposition, auto and cab associations now demand a proper legal framework for bike taxis, placing new regulatory responsibility on the state government. The bike taxi debate in Karnataka has entered a new phase, creating fresh challenges for the state government. After prolonged opposition to bike taxi services, auto and taxi associations have now changed their stand and are demanding a clear legal framework to regulate bike taxis, similar to autos and cabs.

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Brett Barenholtz, President, National Limousine Association (NLA)

Amid increasing national concern over passenger safety in ride-hailing services, the National Limousine Association (NLA) is calling for urgent legislative and regulatory action to establish consistent, enforceable safety standards across all ground transportation platforms. 

Recent reporting and ongoing litigation underscore the seriousness of the issue. Court filings indicate more than 558,000 reports of sexual violence associated with Uber rides between 2017 and 2024, ranging from misconduct to severe assault. Thousands of related federal lawsuits are currently moving through the court system, with bellwether cases expected to influence future settlements and regulatory outcomes.

“These reports raise serious questions about whether voluntary, platform-led safety measures are sufficient to protect the riding public,” said Brett Barenholtz, President of the National Limousine Association. “Passenger safety should never depend on which app someone uses. Riders deserve transparency, accountability, and safety standards that reflect the risks being reported nationwide.”

As the association representing professionally trained, commercially insured and heavily regulated chauffeured‑transportation providers, the NLA is urging policymakers to implement uniform safeguards that apply across all passenger transportation services.

The NLA calls on Congress, state legislatures, local regulators and public safety stakeholders to accelerate reforms, including:

• Consistent, enforceable safety protocols across platforms
• Uniform background check requirements for all drivers
• Mandatory safety-incident reporting standards
• Stronger oversight and enforcement for platforms with systemic safety failures

Click Here to Learn More about the NLA

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