Alleged robbery, sexual assault in unlicensed rideshare vehicle in Thunder Bay, Ont., prompt safety concerns

A recent incident involving an alleged robbery and sexual assault in an unlicensed rideshare vehicle in Thunder Bay, Ont., has spurred conversations about ridesharing safety.

The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) says it received a report from a woman who had arranged a ride through a group chat shortly before 11 p.m. ET on April 24. 

"Upon entering the vehicle, the victim had been threatened with a weapon by another occupant. The victim was threatened to co-operate and surrender personal items of value, in addition to e-transferring funds," police said in a news release issued April 28.

A 23-year-old and a 21-year-old face a slew of charges in connection with the incident, including robbery with a firearm, forcible confinement, uttering threats to cause death, disguise with intent and sexual assault with a weapon. 

When asked whether the TBPS has tracked how many incidents related to unlicensed rideshares have been reported to police, a spokesperson for the service said they were not aware of such a list. However, they urge people to be cautious when accepting rides from unlicensed operators.

"If people are concerned about using a ridesharing service, they should provide someone they trust with any available information about the vehicle and the driver and to call 911 in an emergency," media-relations co-ordinator Matt Vis said in an email to CBC News on Tuesday.

'People are getting rides from complete strangers'

The City of Thunder Bay's municipal enforcement services is responsible for issuing licenses for taxi and ridesharing companies.

In order to be licensed as a driver, people must provide a criminal record check and driver's abstract. Their vehicle cannot be more than 10 years old and they must provide an up-to-date safety certificate for it, explained Adam Carruthers, the city's supervisor of municipal enforcement services. 

While the position of licensing and enforcement manager is currently vacant, Carruthers has been largely overseeing the portfolio. 

The city's vehicle for hire bylaw outlines the rules drivers must follow. There are different regulations for those operating an auxiliary services vehicle, an auxiliary taxi cab, a limousine and a taxi cab.

The minimum fee for operating an unlicensed vehicle-for-hire business in the city is $500, with a maximum fine of $100,000.

"I do want to caution the public against using services that are not licensed by the city. It presents a significant danger," Carruthers said. "There's no way to confirm that this is actually a safe person to be driving you, or that the vehicle is safe to ride within."

He encourages people to ask for the city license card of the driver before accepting a ride. The driver is required to have the card on them when operating.

There's no way to confirm that this is actually a safe person to be driving you, or that the vehicle is safe to ride within.- Adam Carruthers, supervisor of municipal enforcement services, City of Thunder Bay

People can report unlicensed ridesharing services to the city's bylaw department by phone at 807-577-6536 or online at thunderbay.ca/bylaw.

"These things are very hard to track and people are getting rides from complete strangers in the City of Thunder Bay," said Carruthers. 

"When you're participating in that action, you are inviting a stranger into your life to drive you somewhere, and it is against anyone's best judgment to do that."

Calls for more municipal oversight

Uride is the only licensed rideshare company in Thunder Bay. Founded in the northwestern Ontario city by Cody Ruberto, it now operates from coast to coast and is also expanding into Europe.

Ruberto was not surprised to hear about the recent safety incident involving an unlicensed rideshare vehicle in Thunder Bay.

"I think it was a matter of time, and it's pretty disappointing," he said.

Ruberto said he constantly hears about people arranging rides through Whatsapp groups to skirt the city's bylaws, and said he wants to see the city do more to intervene.

"On our end, [Uride will] do everything we can to just offer the best, safest service," he said. "But it is scary that these groups are still alive and doesn't seem like much has been done."

Having a safety system of checks and balances for both drivers and passengers is important, he said.

All Uride drivers must pass a background check and their vehicle must pass a safety check. When drivers are using the app, they switch from their personal insurance to Uride's commercial insurance policy, "so if there ever is an accident, drivers and riders are insured."

"After every single ride, customers can leave a rating and they can leave comments and we read all those, so if there's a driver who just isn't providing the best service, you usually find out about it pretty quick," he said.

Something else he wants to see municipalities do is make cameras mandatory in all licensed taxis and rideshare vehicles, he added. 

"I hope that after the latest incident, this is something that's taken pretty seriously and that there's some kind of actions based on this," he said.