MTO “does not license rideshare companies”
Neither Sudbury, OPP or MTO know who is responsible as Uber launches
Neither the City of Sudbury, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) nor the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) appear to know who is responsible for regulating Uber as it launches in Sudbury.
In emails obtained by Taxi News, MTO staff note “MTO does not license rideshare companies” despite the fact that its own rideshare pilot regulation scheme became effective on May 19, 2026.
Stefany Szydziak, Licensing Enforcement Officer for Greater Sudbury writes, “This is not a rideshare company that we previously licensed, as far as I can tell from the information provided. With that being said, I would recommend reaching out to the MTO as Sudbury is now included in the Provincial Rideshare Framework, so they could potentially be licensed under this new program.”
The Ontario Provincial Police responded by email noting it is “not aware of any specific operational changes, information sessions, or enforcement initiatives related to the introduction of rideshare services.”
“I believe the request may be based on the assumption that the OPP has a regulatory role with respect to rideshare services. Generally speaking, the OPP does not regulate or license rideshare companies or drivers,” the media office noted on July 15. “Our role is to enforce applicable provincial and federal legislation, such as the Highway Traffic Act and Criminal Code, regardless of whether the driver is operating a personal vehicle, taxi, or rideshare vehicle. Any licensing requirements or by-law enforcement related to rideshare services would typically fall under the jurisdiction of the respective municipality.”
Ontario’s Regulation 136/26 came into effect on May 19th, 2026. Ground transportation professionals including the Canadian Taxi Association have expressed concerns that the development work around the “rideshare pilot” was extremely rushed and failed to address even the most basic public safety and consumer protection issues.
“The Canadian Taxi Association worked with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police in an effort to persuade Ontario to use the pre-launch period to hold meaningful working group meetings, to discuss how new technologies could be used to improve passenger safety in ground transportation. The development of Regulation 136/26 provided a golden opportunity for government, industry and law enforcement to work together to create effective new program for driver and vehicle registration and identification to create a single system,” noted CTA president Marc Andre Way on June 25th.
“It is unfortunate Ontario declined this opportunity to support long-serving local family businesses, and to improve safety for its citizens.”
