The City of Ottawa has been unrelenting in its battle against Uber this month, a ride-sharing company that connects licensed cab drivers to consumers in Ottawa and collects fares through its phone app. Uber argues it doesn’t have to follow taxi regulations because it’s a technology company, not a cab company.
Uber’s operation in Ottawa is something that could benefit the city as a student-friendly alternative to other cab companies despite not adhering to taxicab regulations. This is because regulations do not necessarily make cabs safer, as the city seems to think.
It’s not news that students need cabs more often than the general public because of lower incomes, making car ownership difficult. They also have social lives that often involve drinking and late-night mobility.
At Carleton especially, our campus isn’t located in the downtown core, meaning students are more likely to live in areas that require cabs when the buses stop running.
The technology interface that Uber uses connects with consumers through an app that is more student friendly than soliciting for a ride over the phone with another company. Anything that makes finding a safe ride home easier is a bonus when the only other options might be driving under the influence, walking, or finding an underground cab.
Uber’s Jeff Weshler told CBC “cities that embrace Uber and embrace innovation have some really positive outcomes. What we see is reductions in rates of DUIs. It’s common sense to say that if you have more choices available to you, it’s easier for you to make that smart decision.”
Uber also offers a logical solution to the contention that can exist between service workers and consumers when low-income customers like students can’t (or don’t) tip generously. Uber drivers are paid automatically through the app that doesn’t accept tips. The fare includes full compensation for the driver so there’s no stress for students who can’t tip as much as they should, or guesswork about how much is appropriate. Uber drivers will work harder and better for higher ratings on the app instead of higher tips.
Uber offers consumers a forum to report on whether their drivers are fulfilling these duties so that other consumers can choose drivers that have proven they’re capable.
One system tells a driver to do their job well, and another punishes them for not doing their job. At the end of the day, Uber drivers have to be good at their jobs to keep doing it.
The city’s limit on the number of licensed cabs in Ottawa means cabs can be hard to find during peak hours. Many of Uber’s drivers have other jobs that support them financially and would keep them off the roads when they aren’t needed.
When they are needed, however, Uber not only competes with Blue Line and other licensed cab companies in Ottawa. It also competes with underground cab drivers that can offer the same price advantage over traditional cab companies. Last month, Magabi Suleiman was convicted in Ottawa for assaulting two women in a car posing as an underground cab in ByWard Market in 2011. His conviction flags the presence of underground cabs in Ottawa and the need for student-friendly transportation options other than cabs which can be difficult to find, and underground cabs that may potentially be dangerous.
Uber’s rideshare program that offers less control over licensed cab drivers is safer for consumers than underground cabs, carpooling with strangers or driving under the influence, and students should have the right to choose.
