After seven months driving the citizens of St. Thomas for a flat rate of $12, Bob Pate is being told he’s no longer allowed to do so. “I got a phone call on Friday from the bylaw officer, and he said I have to stop everything by Friday, Nov. 6,” said Pate – the owner of Easy Ride – who created a ridesharing app, bought a Cadillac, and has multiple drivers. The city received a complaint about his service and is now threatening to shut him down. “All rideshare services right now would fall under the current taxi bylaw,” said Thomas Thayer, St. Thomas’ city clerk. “Any vehicle participating in rideshare would fall under the definition of a taxicab.” This issue came up two years ago in November 2024. At the request of rideshare driver Malachi Male, St. Thomas City Council asked staff to amend their 2013 Taxi bylaw to include ride shares. It was never done. “They didn’t pass any law or anything and no amendment was done,” said Pate. “It is still lingering from last two years.” Thayer said the city is looking at options. “But as I understand it, the provincial government is looking to potentially upload rideshare enforcement and authorization regulation to their level, which would take it away from the municipalities,” said Thayer. “To put staff effort right now into developing and amending our taxi bylaw for rideshare services, we’re going to wait until the province determines what they ultimately want to do. We’re taking a similar stance to what other medium-sized cities are currently doing.” Pate has been told he needs to comply by either obtaining a taxi licence or be shut down. “This is not a taxi, this is a ride sharing business,” said Pate. “The same as Uber, Lyft, and other platforms.” Pate says he has all the safety precautions in place to be a rideshare driver and business owner. “I have to get the venerable sector check from the police,” said Pate. “We get that report and after that I will hire them as a driver. I am driving [a], like, $100,000 worth car and all the cars we are having a proper insurance and plus I have additional insurance for my passengers.” Pate has started a petition asking for “Fair Recognition, Regulation, and Support of Easy Ride.” He is hoping to get the issue before council on Nov. 9. “You can make it official for every ride share and apply the rules and regulations,” said Pate. “What kind of license do you need? What kind of other stuff do we need to get? We will get it done and we will get legalized and we will get everything running.”
