The man pushing for Uber to set up shop in Chatham-Kent is shifting into a lower gear. 
Florin Marksteiner hoped to have the transportation service on the road by February first, but had to take a step back while the municipality reviews its existing taxi bylaw.
“I do apologize that I (gave) false hope, but it was my hope, my personal hope,” Marksteiner says. “I wanted to catch the Valentine’s Day (customers) but I didn’t check with the municipality to see where they are.”
Marksteiner is confident the service will be able to move forward in time, but at this point, he’s really just gauging interest in the community.
“That’s not my business, I’m not an employee of Uber, I’ve talked to Uber and they’re ok for me to do this,” he explains. “They usually look at big cities, we’re not considered a big city or a big region because we’re under Windsor in their books, I would love if we grow so much for them to realize Chatham-Kent…should be by itself.”
The local entrepreneur and actor says right now, there are just 17 taxis on the road around Chatham-Kent, and believes Uber would enhance transportation in the region rather than hurt existing cab companies.
While over 360 people have joined the Uber Chatham-Kent Facebook page, less than a dozen people turned out to hear more about the service at a public information meeting last night.