The City of Toronto says it is trying to crack down on drivers who are offering illegal rides for cash.
One Uber driver who wants to remain anonymous tells NEWSTALK 1010 that he has done it, waited outside sporting events to offer rides for cash, avoiding the middle man, the app.
Listeners also admit that they have accepted such rides.
"There was a car there and I just knocked on the window, and he said he was an Uber and I gave him the cash," Marie says.
Mike Stones, manager of the Vehicle-for-Hire Enforcement Unit, says the city is well aware of the illegal activity and has 10 bylaw enforcement officers doing regular inspections.
"It's happening across the city at different venues," he says. "(The officers) have actually been solicited by Uber drivers, asking if they want a ride, circumvent the app, make a cash arrangement."
A driver registered with a private transportation company like Uber would be ticketed with providing services not via the company's software application, or charged with street hailing. An unregistered driver would be charged with operating an unlicensed limousine or taxi. Fines start at $500.
NEWSTALK 1010 reached out to Uber for comment.
"We aren't aware of any complaints of this nature," spokesperson Susie Heath wrote in an email response.
With only 10 bylaw officers keeping an eye on thousands of drivers, enforcement is proving difficult. Stones says they have only handed out a handful of tickets in the last two months even though it seems to be a more widespread problem.
He adds that to prove the charge, either an officer has to be directly solicited or the witness has to agree to testify in court.
Kristine Hubbard with Beck Taxi says they have been concerned about this issue since private vehicle-for-hire companies entered Toronto.
"What we need to see is more enforcement," she says. "And the difficulty is that when (the city) took on this project, when they decided that they were going to let tens of thousands of people and vehicles cruise our streets, we didn't have the resources available for them to be able to actually enforce their own rules."