A complaint that could shut down a popular Ontario carpooling service has prompted the Ontario government to look into updating provincial rules that make a lot of existing carpools illegal.

'It restricts a lot of people who simply might want to get together and use a carpooling service. And I don't think that's, when you look at 2008, what most people would want to see.'— Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley

"People are looking for new ways to get together to get from one place to another, and we don't want to have laws in place to thwart that unnecessarily," Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said Tuesday.

Bradley acknowledged that high gas prices, environmental concerns and incentives such as high-occupancy vehicle lanes have boosted public interest in carpooling, but current rules make the practice legally difficult.

He said he has asked officials in his ministry to compare the existing legislation with laws in other jurisdictions after hearing about the challenge against PickupPal Online Inc., an Ontario website with 15,000 members that matches about 100 drivers and riders a day. The site allows drivers to negotiate payment.

Bus company challenges carpool service

A hearing is scheduled for the company before the Ontario Highway Transportation Board on Oct. 15 after the bus operator Trentway-Wagar, a subsidiary of Coach Canada, alleged the carpooling website violates Ontario's Public Vehicles Act.

The act, which was designed to ban rogue taxi and bus companies, makes it illegal for passengers to compensate a driver during trips that cross a municipal boundary unless the driver holds a special provincial public vehicle licence, is driving a licensed taxi, or fulfills these conditions:

• Passengers pay the driver once a week or less;
• The carpool makes only one round trip per day; and
• If the owner of the carpool vehicle isn't the passengers' employer, he or she does not own any other carpool vehicles.

The act also makes it illegal to arrange an unlawful ride.

"You can see what this does is it restricts a lot of people who simply might want to get together and use a carpooling service," Bradley said. "And I don't think that's, when you look at 2008, what most people would want to see."

However, he said it will take a while to change the law, as it requires new legislation to be passed.

In the meantime, PickupPal CEO John Stewart has filed a letter to the Ontario Highway Transportation Board asking for the case to be dismissed, but he said he expects the company to be shut down unless the government intervenes.

Bradley said that as minister, he cannot interfere with the tribunal.

Previous bus company challenges against carpooling services have successfully shut down those services.