Uber to announce start date for Saskatoon

Saskatoon will be the first Saskatchewan city to welcome the Uber ride-sharing service.

“They’re launching today. As I understand it, it’ll be today or tomorrow that people will now be able to have ride-sharing in Saskatoon,” Mayor Charlie Clark said Tuesday on the Brent Loucks Show.

The company was due to unveil more details at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Both the province and city council passed regulations in December to allow ride-sharing companies to operate.

Clark said it then took Uber some time to get its paperwork in order with the province.

“The reason that we haven’t seen Uber up until now is that there was a process for Uber getting properly registered with the provincial insurance system that’s in place.”

While it appears Uber will be the first ride-sharing service to start operating in the Bridge City, Clark said he hopes others follow suit.

“We also look forward and hope to see other companies come in to make sure that we have a diversified market here in Saskatoon of ride-sharing.”

An email sent to users of the company’s app indicated the service would be up-and-running at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A screengrab of an email sent to Uber users on Feb. 5, 2019 indicating the company’s plans to begin service in Saskatoon.

Check back for updates.