Toronto city council won't decide whether to reform its taxi licensing system until its legal battle with Uber comes to a close.
Councillors voted Tuesday to defer debating several issues surrounding taxi licensing until the city's solicitor reviews the upcoming court decision. A hearing is scheduled for May 19.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Uber Canada says the company had applied for the licence on Tuesday morning as a compromise with the city.
Susie Heath says the licence covers the company's taxi division, which allows riders to hail city cabs through Uber's mobile app.
Heath says the brokerage licence does not cover Uber Black, the company's limousine service, or the controversial UberX operation that allows regular drivers to pick up passengers without a taxi license.
Toronto's licensing and standards division is trying to obtain a court injunction to shut down Uber's operations, claiming that the use of drivers without official cab licences poses a safety risk to the public.
Mayor John Tory, however, has said that he hopes to reach a compromise that would see Uber continue to operate in the city while complying with municipal regulations.
Tory has repeatedly said that technology-driven business models such as Uber's are now part of modern life, but says regulations are still necessary to ensure public safety.
"Technology like Uber ... is here to stay. That doesn't mean it's the wild west where everybody just comes in and sets up shop and does just as they wish," he said in a recent telephone interview.
"There has to be something that speaks to the safety, the affordability and so on for the travelling public. The travelling public want these things because it gives them choice, and they also generally believe that competition is good, and so do I."
Heath said the company agrees with the mayor "that Torontonians deserve a safe, reliable and affordable ride in their city."
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier story mistakenly said council voted to defer Uber's licence application.
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