The City of Edmonton announced Friday that a new Vehicle for Hire Bylaw was being proposed that would allow technology based transportation providers, such as Uber, to operate.

Garry Dziwenka, the city’s director of licensing and vehicle for hire said the proposal was being made in response to feedback from Edmontonians.

Officials said the proposed bylaw will include: allowing companies that have mobile app dispatch services to operate, standardizing requirements for vehicle for hire class to include a mandatory criminal record check, proper class of provincial licence, insurance and annual mechanical inspections, and standardizing fees for licences of all classes of vehicles for hire.

“Technology is changing, the world is changing, and we need to ensure that we’re keeping up with it,” Scott Mackie with the City of Edmonton said.

However, the news didn’t sit well with those representing Edmonton taxi drivers – because unlike taxi drivers, there would be no cap on the number of Uber drivers on the roads, and the fares wouldn’t be regulated.

Meanwhile, the City has filed a court injunction against Uber – but the service continues in a rogue-like fashion in Edmonton.

If the bylaw floated by officials is passed, it will be the first major city in Canada to do so.

Uber released a statement in response to the developments Friday, but it wasn’t all positive. The statement commended Mayor Don Iveson and the City for being “among the first Canadian cities to propose regulations for ridesharing” and said the company was looking forward to working with officials to come up with rules.

However, the company said some of the regulations wouldn’t work:

“Regulations that require ridesharing drivers to individual obtain licences and pay high fees just to get on the road are unworkable, as most driver partners sign up on a short-term or part-time basis. With such rules, riders face the prospect of higher prices and unreliable service. Other cities that have regulated ridesharing have instead adopted a model that licenses ridesharing companies directly.”

City officials are asking Edmontonians to review and comment on the draft bylaw through an online survey – the feedback will be included in a report that will be presented at a public hearing on September 16.

The survey will be open until September 10.

With files from Dan Grummett