Taxis meet technology: Edmonton’s proposed ‘vehicle for hire’ bylaw changes
Edmonton has a long and proud history of pioneering new things. From starting the first community league to envisioning and building Canada’s first food bank to becoming one of the first big cities to implement curbside recycling, this city is not afraid to take the lead.
Today we become one of the first municipalities in Canada to consider a bylaw that — if adopted by Council — would allow private vehicles-for-hire to operate in Edmonton. In other words, companies like Uber. My initial view is the new approach in the bylaw will help our vehicle-for-hire industry adapt to the future, giving passengers greater choice while still appropriately regulating the one thing that remains most important: your safety. We’ve heard loud and clear from Edmontonians who want meaningful reform to our vehicle for hire system and its rules, and this proposed bylaw aims to achieve just that.
For example, under the proposed bylaw, a private vehicle-for-hire driver (i.e. an Uber driver, but also limo and shuttle drivers) would be able to legally operate in Edmonton, subject to some reasonable provisions: drivers must become licensed by the City and show that they have the proper class of Alberta drivers’ license, must show a criminal records check, and absolutely must carry appropriate insurance to meet provincial standards. As you may be aware, the Province of Alberta recently warned drivers and passengers about gaps in ‘ride-sharing’ insurance coverage, and this new bylaw ensures that law-abiding private vehicle-for-hire operators have sufficient insurance coverage.
The next question many people will ask is what role taxis now play? By separating public and private vehicles for hire, we ensure taxis continue to play a part in our public transportation mix. Unlike private vehicles-for-hire, taxis will be the only vehicles who can pick up street hails, operate at designated taxi stands near high pedestrian areas and offer predictable pricing (as opposed to the sometimes ‘surge’ rates of private vehicles). One important thing Council will need to address is ways to attract or transition some current taxi drivers to our accessible taxi business, helping us fill an important gap and providing a new avenue for drivers looking for more predictable, stable business. We are also aiming to create more taxi stands around the City and to reduce additional requirements for taxis to operate, with a view to improving conditions for existing cab drivers to make a decent living. Under this system, cab drivers will have greater flexibility and be able to accept requests for pickup via services like Uber when they are not operating a taxi.
My council colleagues and I do not enter into these decisions lightly and we recognize the impact that decisions like these may have on taxi plate holders in our city. There is no doubt, they are likely to be significant. However, we can’t preserve the old way of doing things; it wasn’t working for many drivers, especially those who didn’t hold plates, and the service is not meeting customer expectations.
Many citizens have tried services like Uber here and elsewhere, and want those choices in our city, provided they’re safe and they play by the rules. This bylaw would make that possible, provided private transportation companies will comply with these very reasonable public safety expectations. For any that won’t comply, this bylaw will also give us stronger enforcement tools to deal with operators endangering the public with, for example, inadequate insurance.
The draft bylaw was prepared by our staff based on a lot of research into international examples, discussion with other Canadian cities, and with input from many interested parties. I think it’s important to note that we look forward to hearing more input in the coming weeks as we refine our approach. City administration will be reaching out specifically to various industry groups to get their input into this proposed bylaw, including those plate holder and driver groups most impacted.
We want to hear from you, too. What do you want to see in a re-imagined vehicle-for-hire industry? Make sure you fill out the survey here and/or use the hashtag #yourYEGride to give City Council your take on how we should ride forward in Edmonton.
Requiring that riders must prebook their drivers is naive. Ecommerce is all about business without middlemen. Trying to require bureaucracy within probate industry never worked on the long run.
Attempting to force the insurance regulation will probably work but it is a bad idea. The old solutions are not an effective way to solve current problems. Insurance on Alberta should be encouraged to get up to date or or will be replaced as it is less able to support ecommerce based businesses.
City should allow only city taxis to work with uber or other companies like not the private car should have the limit as well if there too many of them drivers won’t be a Abel to make decent amount of money the there won’t have enough drivers driver will took another job there won’t be enough taxi than
Hiring a professional taxi service gives me peace of mind that
-the driver takes his/her job seriously
-the car being used is clean, reliable, insured
Hiring an Uber driver
-allows me more choice and provides me with an option to pay a competitive price
-may force taxis to reduce their fares
-will likely force taxi drivers to change professions or “drive” the taxicab profession into extinction
-makes me feel uneasy because of the unknown… is the driver sane? Does the driver know where to go? Is the driver a good driver? Does the driver have training?
So many considerations. I know that something has got to give… I very rarely use a cab service because of the unreasonable expense. How much more convenient would it be to jump into a widely used service if it were reasonable, safe and reliable?
Please don’t distroy this taxi undastry Maka a bylaw existing taxi s to work with the company like uber we have a enough cab but our taxi system is broken that we need to fixed to make taxi to work as a GPS dispatch system company’s don’t like that because they want city to raleas more taxi plats so they can double there ravune to allows uber with out taxi plats u guys not helping any one beside uber they are already a millionaire company if u want help u local taxi drivers and public allow taxi to operate with uber your 100% problem is solved withe the public and plats owners and drivers we should tray this before dustry the hole taxi lemon and related transportation problems now the keys and note in u hands u going to desid whether u r going to help locals r big ritch company s like uber thank a lot
Waiting for media reports Sept 16 / meeting. / displaying unfairness & lack of understanding./ Who has followed the laws? Taxis.
Hopefully in very near future people will understand .
Ride sharing is a taxi. / APP etc is only means of communication./ Taxis have the same alternatives also.
Here is insurance solution suggestion. All vehicles for hire be required to have “”Telematics “” for safety/ driving Direct Link with insurance companies.
One thing is sure that companies like Uber may be staying here for long or not but existing brokers will surely introduce their own fleet of private vehicles under name of PTP’s. A majority of same class1/2/4 drivers will be driving PTP vehicles and what type of good service you can expect from those drivers who cannot provide good service while driving taxi ??
Instead of this, city should be enforce the existing bylaw in spirit with amendment regarding apps based dispatch system mandatory for existing brokers and optional for drivers. Fare discounts above the standard meter rates optionally be allowed, for advantage of customers as being done by companies like Uber. City bylaw should somewhat speak about drivers rights and responsibilities. Brokers obligations for driver safety must be introduced in amended bylaw. Plate owners accountability be introduced.
There is already business competition between Taxies, limos, shuttles and buses although they theoretically are supposed to be catering different class of customers.
Accessible taxies be monitored by some city watchdog very strictly.
So city should not be impressed by media campaigns by technology based companies for just class of customers with net enabled smart phones and credit card in pocket, instead use technology to update the existing system.
Until the Insurance regulations change for Rides for Hire the city should NOT do anything to support Uber in its continued operations wthin Edmonton.
The City and Council have been slack in the enforcement of our local bylaws and provincal laws in regards to Uber. They have allowed Uber to operated illegally this whole time due to lack of enforcement.
Treat ALL ride for hires the same way!!! There should no difference in how the city treats a taxi and an Uber vehicle.
If city is unable to enforce the bylaw which we already have for vehicle for hires then how we can think about a new bylaw to make and enforce it on uber or other taxis.i don’t think there is any need of new bylaws as we already have laws. Just enforce the existing laws strictly on all companies whether they are local taxis or uber, if the law is fully implemented then I don’t think there will be any lack of service for any one Mr mayor please dont make jokes or try to be a joke
Improve the taxi dispatch system. Like some city’s in usa they did it. Flywheel or curb taxi apps better than Uber or any technology company’s.
I think your bylaw proposal is groundbreaking but only for the reason that it is the first of its kind. The ridiculous and redundant admin/license/registration fees show just how backward this council is. Have 1 reasonable fee that encourages participation and growth in this service. Stop shaking down every nickel and dime from the people you claim to represent.
Hi Mayor Iveson,
1. This issue shouldn’t be a public discussion because it is hard to please everyone.
2. The city over the past years fell behind in forcing the existing bylaw and the blame cannot be directed to the industry.
3. The question to be asked: Is the city capable of enforcing the new bylaw? And if yes why did it fall behind the previous years? The man required to enforce the bylaw with 1500 taxis was challenge now multiplying the number of cars and adding more rules will not make it easy!
4. How does the city plan to work with UBER to get more information about drivers if the company claims to be just an app (which by the way is a good app that is similar to many that exist on the market) and not a taxi broker.
5. Who said UBER will comply with the new bylaw if they didn’t take the current one seriously and didn’t care for what the city wanted and never comply till this point.
A. FYI bandit driver caught were ticketed in the previous years .. does that seem fair to be fair that a group of drivers that operate under UBER are not touched.
How would adding more accessible vehicles help the taxi industry?
The simplest solution to this problem is allow UBER to operate as a broker under the current bylaw therefore requiring licensed operates and most taxi driver will work with them.. why very simple they have a system that works for both drivers and clients. This is the only way to be fair! Any other consideration will be at the cost of one of the parties!
Hi Mr. Iveson,
The title to this article states ” TAXI MEET TECHNOLOGY” .. I would recommend that the city give the Taxi industry sometime to kick start an APP . This will give the city and users good grounds to evaluate the taxi service to UBER.
What people love about UBER
1. Being able to knowing when the car will arrive (Technology)
2. Not having to wait for call takers to answer phone call – The don’t during bar rush hours when cars are available — call takers seem to be the issue. (Technology)
Most drivers during bar rush are return to Whyte and Jasper empty to load up more clients.
3. Didn’t the city try a similar approach to a private vehicle for hire when leduc took over the airport operation. That seemed to be a great fail for years!
4. You have a system that needs improvement. Why reinvent the wheel. Yes, you may have unsatisfied client (and i hear people talk about taxi industry – and some just have a bias (UBER drivers or …) but please remember no one can ever please everyone
5. UBER and Taxi companies should have same level playing field:
OPERATE AS A TAXI which means required to have licensed cabbies and vehicles.. Please don’t forget about the people that made a decision based on the previous bylaw and invested their lives or remortgaged their houses to purchase a license.
Some people claim to enjoy riding with UBER drivers more than taxi drivers … won’t change drivers are drivers… I can see that to be the case when are people doing it for the kick of it not for a living
Hello,
Hi Mayor Iveson, It May Concern:
This letter is in regards to the By Law that the city is passing on 22th September 2015.
I would like the city members to view our opinions in regards to the By Law
1. City is making the by law by opening Ubber in the city of Edmonton. Every one that has a class 5 license can be a Cab driver. This will reduce the work for the full time Cab drivers to part time or even less. What is the city doing to resolve this issue? Is the city going to create jobs for the cab drivers? Will the city be willing to open part time work like what they are doing to the cab drivers for the other city drivers as well like ETS drivers? Will this give option to anyone to work as a ETS driver part time? Why are the full time jobs of the Cab drivers cut? If the city wants to use technology then it should be used at other places too and other city services too. This is totally an unfair for the drivers.
2. Any one can drive Cab part time? This person could have been working 12 hours at his full time job and then decided to drive part time to make extra money, where is the safety of the public? This person can be out working for 16 hours, this not only risks the driver but also the public around.
3. Taxi industry is ready for the change but the regulations should be followed. New company should be required to have a car with specific colour, with top light and other requirements so that general public can distinguish between a cab and a private car.
4. City is claiming that with an application on the phone it would be faster service, internet can go down and then what means would the public use.
5. Public today has the option to use phone service, radio to use the cab service presently.
Please look into these issues, please review public safety prior to making any decisions?
Thanks | Jaspal
I want to share my thoughts with you about the substantials changes proposed in the Vehicle for Hire bylaw.
1. Under the proposed bylaw, charging flexible prices is not an option for taxis while companies like Uber can adjust their rates based on supply and demand. This creates an unfair advantage for Uber where it can drop its fares in low demand times while regular taxis will face swift fines if they lowered their rates to compete with Uber. This uneven practice will allow Uber to undercut the market.
2. Unlike other dispatch companies and taxis, the proposed bylaw does not require Uber to provide accessible service to disabled community. Unfair competition ( point one ) from Uber will force committed and professional drivers to leave the industry. In the longer run, this will potentially reduce the number of accessible cabs, deteriorating service to the disabled community.
4. Unlike taxis, Uber is permitted to refuse trips under the proposed bylaw. This year, we’ve had two high-profile cases where service was denied to customers based on race and sexual orientation. City’s current process to deal with such denials will not apply to Uber. This potential for discrimination can easily be eliminated by ensuring that all provisions of 12(1) apply to all vehicles for hire.
5. The proposed bylaw removes the requirement for driver training and English language proficiency. This will lead to inconsistency and can potentially lower the quality of service.
Honourable City Council,
I am a law abiding, hard working taxi driver in Edmonton. I am a sole bread earner for my growing family. Full time taxi driving is my life line.
Why all Canadian Provinces & Territories set a minium wage? For taxi drivers taxi meter is the minium wage. In Edmonton taxi meter rate is same for the last 7 years, while broker rent, commercial insurance, repair, City fees & cost of living has gone up. Did you ever wonder how taxi drivers make ends meet?
Uber was successfully kicked out by Vancouver & Calgary 3 years ago why? Uber drivers were succefully ticketed and prosecuted for driving without commercial insurance, driver licenses, city permits, with outstanding warrants and breaking the minimum limo hourly booking rate of $75? Calgary Mayor Nenshi stood up to Uber’s bullying tactics & told Calgarians that Uber has no insurance & being jerks won’t win favours in Calgary, Uber has to play by the same rules as taxis? Why Uber’s online petition & fabricated anti taxi & Uber love emails had no impact on the Calgary & Vancouver City Council? That is why no Uber in Calgary. For better customer service, vehicle standard and driver wages City’s set meter & flat rates for taxis and limos. Our City’s minum hourly rate for limos was $75 in last Bylaw 14700?
Unfortunately, our City Council is bowing in front of bully Uber. Our business is 40% down because of UberX. Many times drivers have to fight with Uber drivers over street hails.
Unfortunately, City is eliminating driver English Language test, training, vehicle for hire age, defensive driving course and drivers Abstract to serve whose interest consumer or Uber? Under old bylaw 14700 no taxi/limo/shuttle driver can drive with more than 7 demerit points. What City and Consumer don’t need safe drivers & vehicles anymore? Except Edmonton all Canadian cities have 1 or 2 weeks new driver training programs why? Vehicle for Hire drivers are City Ambassadors therefore, there should be a uniform training program. I request for following urgent changes.
1. Keep the old taxi Bylaw 14700, just include app dispatch in the definition.
2. Minimum 3 years Canadian driving experience to become a commercial driver.
3. Alberta Class 1,2 or 4 License
4. ESL Test
5. Clean Driver’s Abstract with less than 7 demerit points.
6. Defensive driving course.
7. Should get mandatory extensive EPS Background Check with finger prints to work with vulnerable people like taxi drivers. City currently only accepts EPS background checks to support EPS revenue why change for bully Uber?
9. City run Ambassador Vehicle for Hire training program like other cities. Consumers need exceptional service.
10. No Vehicle for Hire License until you get GST Number from CRA, we don’t support tax avedars. Taxi drivers can’t drive without registering & getting GST number from Revenue Canada.
11. Maximum age of Vehicle should be 5 model years with mandatory mechanical inspection every 6 months. Consumers need safe and comfortable commercial vehicles.
12. Mandatory snow/winter tires before November 15 of every year.
13. All vehicles should have same type of commercial insurance under the name of vehicle owner, no hybrid insurance policy should be allowed.
14. For hire Vehicles should be marked with mandatory GPS, secrect panic button, video camera and safety shield. Unfortunately, 149 cab drivers have been murdered in Canada on the job & 16 in Edmonton since 1912. These safety features save lives. We had a vote in 2006 for mandatory safety shields & more than 90% drivers wanted them, why? We got safety shields after the murder of Edmonton cab driver Hassan Yusuf & now you want to get rid of them for who? Video cameras should be mandatory.
15. Fare should stay same all times to reduce potential conflicts with customers & among drivers.
16. Immediately issue 126 new Ambassador taxi plates like what Calgary did after kicking out Uber. Hire a professional consultant to study taxi demand & supply and issue more taxi plates based on census data.
17. Hold a vote of Edmonton taxi drivers to start City taxi dispatch app with taxi drivers money. For van trips van charge should be $9 extra. Limo minimum hourly rate should stay $75 to protect taxi & limo drivers from potential conflicts. Fare structure was put in place after a very thoughtful process. Every Canadian jurisdiction has these rates in place.
18. Uber is working as a taxi company in many jurisdictions, tell Uber to open as a taxi company & play by the same rules.
Taxi is one of the biggest employers in Edmonton for visible minorities. We humbly request you that please don’t kill drivers investment & livelihood in the name of technology. Don’t start a race to the bottom for unsustainable living income for drivers, and poor, unsafe service for consumers. We want an equal and fair playing field to continuously support our famlies please.
Thank you,
How about edmonton become a first city in Canada to do Legalization for Marijuana and open carry handguns. And long wait in hospitals. Need few more hospitals for Edmontonians.
Sir I know that you want to change this law only to legalize uber because you are not able to convince them to stop operating without following city rules.so what about the taxi and the taxi drivers?
Honourable Mayor Don Iveson
Uber from its inception has made a mockery of laws everywhere in the world. Kalanick and his buddies have engaged in a concerted criminal conspiracy involving, individuals, investors, government officials including Presidential candidates, Governors, state legislators, city councilmen, and mayors. They refuse to obey and comply with the rule of law.
They have mesmerized the media.
RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM IS TELLING THE TRUTH.
Uber will soon face justice like in France and Seoul.
Kalanick’s MO and his patterns and procedures set forth are based on his direction,” I don’t care about laws. I have my own laws. We don’t need no stinking regulations.” Such lawlessness can not continue to exist. Hopefully, the Canada will rid its streets and highways of these criminals as France and other countries are doing.
Uber and its rogue, illegal drivers are spearheading the black market of non-compliant taxi, car, and limo service all over the world and are getting by with making a mockery of the rule of law.
all the uber drivers are using online dispatching am asking if the internet stop for one day what will happen for uber drivers and customers they dont have call center for dispatching even the drivers dont know how to reach the destination without gps because they dont know the city well .
Hopefully to take the right decision and thank u
Respected City Council,
Draft Bylaw 17400 will devastate the livelihood & investment of about 4000 Edmonton’s struggling Taxi & Limo industry full time drivers. Uber Black Limo Service was successfully kicked out from Vancouver in 2012 & from Calgary in 2014 for violating the minimum limo hourly rate of $70 & $84.60 respectively. In Edmonton minimum rate for limo was $75 in old Bylaw 14700, that is why there is no Uber Limo Service in Edmonton killing limo business yet but unfortunately, in new draft Bylaw 17400 there is no minimum set rate for limo, so Uber Black Limo service can start and destroy legitimate, vibrant Edmonton Limo Industry. Do you know hundreds of Limo drivers have invested $50, 000-$150, 000 on sedan & stretch limo vehicles? Why you want to destroy a well established industry? There is a set minimum limo hourly rate in all Canadian cities to gurantee decent wage for the drivers. Does it make sense to remove driver training, English Language Test, Defensive driving course, driver’s abstract with less than 7 demerit points, GST Number Registration & extensive EPS BACKGROUND CHECK with finger prints to work with vulnerable people conditions? Who is running the City & who wrote this senseless Draft Bylaw 17400?
You want to have a lawless industry for who……Uber…..Why?
Why Alberta Government has a minimum wage? For taxi & limo drivers meter & set fixed rates are minimum wage. “When The Best Mayor in the World Naheed Nenshi kicked out bully Uber he told Calgarians that Uber has no insurance & being jerks won’t win favours in Calgary, if Uber wants to operate have to play by the same rules”. Last year Calgary City Council issued 126 new Conditional Ambassador taxi plates, they have to operate from 4 p.m. – 4 a.m. Friday & Saturday nights & they can work unlimited hours during rest of the week. Every year Calgary will issue more taxi plates based on demand & supply and census data.
Respected Councillor,
Draft Bylaw 17400 will devastate the livelihood & investment of about 4000 Edmonton’s struggling Taxi & Limo industry full time drivers. Uber Black Limo Service was successfully kicked out from Vancouver in 2012 & from Calgary in 2014 for violating the minimum limo hourly rate of $70 & $84.60 respectively. In Edmonton minimum rate for limo was $75 in old Bylaw 14700, that is why there is no Uber Limo Service in Edmonton killing limo business yet but unfortunately, in new draft Bylaw 17400 there is no minimum set rate for limo, so Uber Black Limo service can start and destroy legitimate, vibrant Edmonton Limo Industry. Do you know hundreds of Limo drivers have invested $50, 000-$150, 000 on sedan & stretch limo vehicles? Why you want to destroy a well established industry? There is a set minimum limo hourly rate in all Canadian cities to gurantee decent wage for the drivers. Does it make sense to remove driver training, English Language Test, Defensive driving course, driver’s abstract with less than 7 demerit points, GST Number Registration & extensive EPS BACKGROUND CHECK with finger prints to work with vulnerable people conditions? Who is running the City & who wrote this senseless Draft Bylaw 17400?
You want to have a lawless industry for who……Uber…..Why?
Why Alberta Government has a minimum wage? For taxi & limo drivers meter & set fixed rates are minimum wage. “When The Best Mayor in the World Naheed Nenshi kicked out bully Uber he told Calgarians that Uber has no insurance & being jerks won’t win favours in Calgary, if Uber wants to operate have to play by the same rules”. Last year Calgary City Council issued 126 new Conditional Ambassador taxi plates, they have to operate from 4 p.m. – 4 a.m. Friday & Saturday nights & they can work unlimited hours during rest of the week. Every year Calgary will issue more taxi plates based on demand & supply and census data.
Unfortunately, our Mayor Don Iveson is acting like a brand Ambassador for Uber. He asked administration on September 2, 2014, could Uber work in Edmonton & told CBC News that Uber could solve Edmonton taxi crunch. After Uber started violating Edmonton taxi Bylaw 14700 on December 18, 2014, Mayor Don Iveson told media on January 20, 2015, that “status quo is not working” and now on September 16, 2015, “Mayor Don Iveson said that Uber is working in a grey area”
Please compare response of Mayor Nenshi with Mayor Iveson on the Uber issue. Uber on line petition 9000 signatures in Calgary & thousands of Uber love, anti technology & anti taxi drivers emails had no impact on the Calgary Mayor, why? Why our honourable Mayor Don Iveson did not issue Uber no insurance & unlicensed service warning to Edmontonians? IBC & Superintendent of Alberta insurance issued warning about UberX no insurance.
Therefore, we humbly request you to kill 4000+ full time taxi & limo drivers job killer Draft Bylaw 17400. Please take a page from Mayor Nenshi, immediately issue126 new Ambassador taxi plates & issue more taxi plates on yearly census data. Let hard working immigrant drivers & their families make their Canadian dreams at a FAIR level playing field!
Thank you so much,
Honourable Edmonton City Council,
Council rejects rule changes that were to pave way for Uber Black
Proposed limo bylaw changes would have allowed on-demand apps
7:33 AM MT
CBC News
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City council has rejected proposed changes to Calgary’s limousine bylaw that would have paved the way for new ride-hailing services like Uber Black to enter the market.
As it stands, limo rides have to be booked at least 30 minutes ahead of time and the minimum fare is $84.60.
City staff recommend eliminating that pre-booking requirement and lowering the minimum fee to $25, while also introducing a distance-based fare system to replace the existing hourly rate for limos.
That would have allowed companies like Uber to use GPS-enabled and city-approved apps rather than traditional taxi meters.
But on Monday night city councillors rejected the plan, instructing administration to come up with more options for regulating new on-demand transportation services in time for the Nov. 16 council meeting.
Council’s decision to put off reforming the limo regulations prompted Uber to issue a statement late Monday night critical of the way the issue has been handled in Calgary.
“While we remain committed to working collaboratively, the City took over 14 months to attempt to make minor amendments to the limousine bylaw,” said Xavier Van Chau, Uber’s spokesman for Canada.
“Given this lengthy process, today’s sudden action to rapidly develop ridesharing regulations concerns us as it seems motivated by a desire to prevent a launch of new and affordable transportation alternatives in Calgary.”
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Know the FACTS about UBER SCAM
1. UberX drivers don’t have commercial insurance. 100% UberX drivers cheat on their personal insurance companies, pls call your own personal insurance company and tell them you want to drive for Uber, your insurance policy will be cancelled immediately.
2. Uber drivers don’t pay GST/HST like taxi drivers. Uber does’t mandate its drivers to register with Revenue Canada to pay GST?
3. Does Uber collect GST on the fares?
4. Why Uber does’t want to pay taxes in Alberta?
5. Uber drivers don’t carry commercial driver licences, breaking Alberta Traffic Safety Act.
5. Uber drivers don’t get Edmonton Police Service extensive background check to work with vulnerable people.
6. Uber drivers don’t get City shauffer permit & training.
7. Uber drivers don’t complete mandatory Defensive Driving Course like taxi drivers.
8.Taxi drivers can’t drive with more than 7 demerit points what about Uber drivers?
9. No maximum vehicle age limit & mandatory City mechanical inspection.
10. No safety shields, high resolution video cameras, emergency panic button & GPS in the vehicle for customer & driver protection.
11. No marked vehicles like taxis for safety & no city regulated fares.
12. Insurance Bureau of Canada & Superintendent of Alberta insurance have issued warnings about UberX no insurance
By Caryn Lieberman Global News
TORONTO — A former UberX driver is suing the ride-sharing company, after a major car accident in June left him with chronic pain, without a vehicle, and in major debt.
“I believe thousands of people are driving Uber here and they don’t know — in case god forbid anything happens to them — how exposed they are to the vulnerability,” said Tawfiq Alam.
He was driving a passenger home along Queen Street East when a motorist ran a red light crashing into his Toyota Sienna. Both Alam and his passenger were rushed to hospital. When Alam called his insurance shortly after, his claim was denied because he had not disclosed that he would be using his vehicle for commercial purposes.
Major damage to UberX driver’s Toyota Sienna following crash in June 2015
“It’s attractive for people to think they could make a buck off something,” said Steve Kee from the Insurance Board of Canada.
“But before you do that — your policies are set for certain limits so you should check with that insurance rep to find out what would happen if something horribly went wrong.”
And that’s exactly what happened to Tawfiq Alam. He admits he had not read the fine print and believed his basic auto insurance was sufficient.
Still, he was confident Uber could help with coverage, because he said he specifically asked the company when he signed up to become a driver about insurance protection.
“They said we are billion dollar company, we have $5 million dollars or so in insurance protection so you don’t have to worry about that, in case you get ticket or accident you just come to us and we take care of the issue,” he recalls.
Alam’s lawyer, Isaac Zisckind of Diamond & Diamond, said it is the first time he is dealing with an Uber claim, but suspects there are many drivers who are as unaware as his client of the limits of their basic auto coverage and whether or not Uber will step in to help.
“When you go to Uber they don’t mention that. You don’t sign anything,” says Zisckind.
“He was being told he would be covered and he assumed he was.”
Alam’s lawyer is now in the process of drafting a claim to sue Uber for at least $1 million in damages and lost income.
Alam wants other drivers to learn from his mistakes, which he said have cost him everything.
The model of paying people for a brief service means fewer workers are salaried employees. Independent contract workers don’t have health insurance, unemployment benefits and certainly not pensions or retirement. Now you can get anything from lawyers to massages all via cell phone app. There’s even a new startup that is the Uber for airplanes. Commercial airlines have to deal with a lot of drug testing, on-going training, requirements and regulations because these laws keep us safe or something. If you think that’s silly you can hire the Uber plane to just throw you up in the air and hope you land.
These services might be convenient, but up-front expenses for workers mean most are barely making ends meet. One Uber driver might earn a little over $10 an hour, but he or she might be using $80 a week or more in gas, money on car washes, even more on maintenance for the car and that doesn’t even count the little bottles of water!
Respected Councillor,
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Uber driver charged with sexual assault avoided Toronto police for a month before turning himself in
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Victor Ferreira
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015
Amritpal Singh has been charged with forcible confinement and sexual assault. Toronto Police
TORONTO — A former Uber driver who was accused of sexually assaulting a 25-year-old woman has turned himself in to Toronto police, one month after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Amritpal Singh, 24, was charged with forcible confinement and sexual assault Monday.
“He was avoiding police,” Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said.
Police allege that Singh picked up a 25-year-old woman in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue on Sept. 15 area to drive her to her home near Lawrence Avenue and Avenue Road. The woman was sexually assaulted in the vehicle around 1 a.m., and reported the incident to police shortly after.
Police said the woman suffered from minor injuries.
Uber spokesperson Xavier Van Chau said at the time that the vehicle service was cooperating with the police investigation and that Singh was no longer listed on the platform.
“Upon learning of these disturbing allegations, we immediately removed the driver from our platform and have reached out to law enforcement to assist in any way that we can.”
Singh was scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Posted in: News Tags: Toronto, Amritpal Singh, Sexual Offenses, Xavier Van Chau
Honourable Mayor Don Iveson!
Uber’s ‘surge pricing’ surprises students with $446 ride
Dario Balca , CTV Toronto
Published Saturday, November 7, 2015 11:28AM EST
Last Updated Saturday, November 7, 2015 11:31AM EST
The mother of a student from Woodbridge, Ont., says she is upset after her daughter and four friends were charged $446 for an Uber ride without being warned about the company’s “surge pricing” system.
“I was upset about it,” said Nancy Giatti, who had to pay the fare. “It’s not right.”
Giatti said her daughter and four friends left a nightclub in downtown Toronto on Friday, Oct. 30.
The students opted to get back home to Woodbridge using Uber to save money on a cab ride that would normally cost about $120.
Uber is usually less expensive than traditional taxis, but the ride-sharing service’s rates are based on demand.
“When demand for rides outstrips the supply of cars, surge pricing kicks in, increasing the price,” Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath told CTV News.
At regular prices, the cost of going from Woodbridge to downtown Toronto using Uber is between $45 and $60 one way. But when the students used the service at 2:30 a.m. on a Friday night, surge pricing meant that rates were five times higher than normal.
Uber said the students should have known about the increased rates, based on the way the app is designed.
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“Riders are always required to provide consent to the higher price in the app before they are connected to a ride,” Heath said.
But Giatti said surge pricing wasn’t explained to the students. Otherwise, they never would have agreed to the increased rates.
“They asked the driver just to make sure that it wasn’t going to be an outrageous amount of money and the Uber driver told them not to worry about. It wasn’t going to be much more than $96, so they agreed to the ride,” Giatti said.
For full-time students with part-time jobs, the cost of the ride was more than they could afford.
“They were hurt,” Giatti said. “They felt ripped off.”
Uber connects app users with people who have signed up to be drivers using their own vehicles. UberX, Uber Canada’s most-popular service, has been operating in Toronto for a year.
When Giatti complained to the company, she was given a 25-per-cent refund. But she said she has advised her daughter to stop using the service and to go back to taking regular taxis instead.
“I don’t think that it’s fair that people have to pay that type of money to get home,” Giatti said, “especially when they’re being responsible and not drinking and driving.
Honourable Mayor Don Iveson!
Brampton student close to covering $663 Uber bill through crowdfunding‘Loco Daniel’ says he didn’t understand surge pricing he agreed to. His crowdfunding campaign isn’t going well.
Karl Mondon / TNS
People stream past Uber offices on Market Street in San Francisco.
Published on Nov 05 2015
Mallory ChateMETRO NEWS
An Ontario student who turned to crowdfunding to ask for help paying his more than $600 bill from an Uber ride on Halloween is actually really close to reaching his fundraising goal.
Despite receiving more snide comments than sympathy, campaign creator, “Loco Daniel,” had raised $621 by Thursday evening thanks to four donations, including a person who gave him $5 to go “buy a brain.”
The standout donation, however, was from his latest contributor Lisa Stilborn, who gave him $600 and did not leave a comment.
Daniel wrote on his GoFundMe page it was his first time using the app for a long ride, and he thought it would be a safe way for him to get back home to Brampton after partying until 2:30 a.m. in downtown Toronto.
What he didn’t understand was that Halloween was bound to be a crazy night. Uber’s “surge pricing” kicked in, a rate that it charges when the demand for rides becomes higher than usual.
The normal fare for the 58-minute ride from downtown to his Brampton location was $184.27. With surge pricing, the bill came to a whopping $663.37. He had also ordered an Uber Black car.
The idea of crowdfunding to pay for a shockingly expensive Uber ride is nothing new, and perhaps Daniel drew inspiration from Gabby, a Baltimore woman in a similar situation who managed to raise $512 to cover her $362 Uber bill last Halloween.
Many blamed Daniel for probably being “drunk” and not reading the Uber agreement before accepting the ride.
“It’s your own fault, man! You very clearly have to state you accept the surge by typing it. Mine was 6.0 surge at one point on Halloween therefore took a taxi,” commented a user by the name of Brian Wilson.
The bill on the page says the user accepted the listed surge charge 10 minutes before he was picked up. According to the Uber website, users must agree to the charges before they even send out a driver.
Some even went as far as to form an Uber conspiracy theory.
Lauren Miller commented, “Either this person is not very smart or, more likely, this is a story engineered by someone working for the cab industry to generate anti-Uber press.”
Uber GST/HST Fraud?
Self-employed cab drivers are required by the Canada Revenue Agency to register, collect and remit HST/GST from their fares to the government. This requirement does not correspond to a certain amount of money being made by cab drivers. Rather, if you drive a cab as a self-employed individual, you must be registered.
For others, the Canada Revenue Agency requires you to register for HST/GST when your sales total over $30,000.
Now we all know that Uber considers itself a technology company and not a cab company. Meaning it does not seem to have an opinion as to whether its drivers are required to register for HST/GST or not. This should be of great concern to the Federal government, anyone driving for Uber, and those who care about tax compliance.
Uber does not allow an individual driver to charge HST/GST above the fare charged by Uber. In addition, an Uber driver cannot collect cash from a passenger to pay any HST/GST amounts owing.
So what this means is that Uber drivers, if required to register for HST/GST, are actually being paid much less than they think.
For example, if an Uber driver makes $100 nightly driving for Uber, in reality, (in Alberta), the Uber driver has actually made $95 and $5 of GST & (in Ontario), the Uber driver has actually made $87 and $13 of HST/GST which must be remitted to the federal government.
If Uber drivers are not aware of this requirement they will not register for HST/GST, nor will they remit the money to the federal government. Once this occurs, the Uber driver may be audited in future, and penalized large amounts for failure to register and remit the proper amounts to the federal government.
Some people think we are talking about a new technology here but what we are dealing with is a plethora of bandit taxis. Bandit taxis have been around for many years. They operate without regulation and charge fees of their own discretion. The only difference is that the Uber guys have an app. Domonios pizza has an app but they are not breaking laws and bullying their way with city council. As for technology, Edmontontaxi companies have been using computer dispatch systems since 1980. The taxi companies also use that modern device know aas a radio. Apps are also available for most cabs in Edmonton, with an added benefit that customers can also order a taxi online from a website. These factors actually dispel any ideas about Ubers superior technology. As I have pointed out in my letter to city council members, the city is in no way in a position to welcome Uber into Edmonton because the city has not be able to enforce their own bylays and I have proof of it. The city has endangered the general public for the past year by the lack of enforcement while robbing law abiding taxi drivers of fees. Yes you take money to make sure we play by the rules while turning a blind eye to the illegal activities of these bandit taxis. All other cities have at least taken some action to combat these illegal activities and Edmonton has done nothing. There are only really 2 reasons why this would happen; There is political interference (that’s illegal) or a total incompetence of law enforcement. It could also be both. Many hours have been spent trying to accommodate the bully into Edmonton’s bylaws. What effort has been made to improve the taxi service? By reading all the posts about long waits and bad cab drivers, what action has the city taken? You’ve got it. Nothing.
Greetings Councillor Andrew Knack,
Edmonton taxi and limo drivers commercial insurance costs up to 20 times more than Uber driver’s personal use auto insurance policy and 5% GST is included in the taxi/limo fares, where as uninsured bandit Uber doesn’t charge 5% GST on the fares. This is about 25% cost difference. When fares are not regulated by municipal or provincial government, Uber will continue to avoid GST Collection on the fares. Do you support tax evader Uber?
Unfortunately, City Council is bringing hostile Bylaw 17400 to permanently stifle Edmonton taxi and limo industry.
City Council message is that Edmontonians don’t need safe drivers anymore, that is why you are eliminating driver training, 8 hours Defensive Driving Course, 3 years Clean AB Driver’s Abstract with less than 7 demerit points, vehicle safety features, vehicle age, car based GPS, emergency secret panic button, emergency trunk release, safety shields, regular mechanical inspections, extensive EPS Background Check with finger prints to work with vulnerable people, compulsory English Proficiency Test, because all these regulations add cost for the rogue, greedy Uber Corporation’s unlicensed and uninsured bandit taxi drivers.
About 13 years ago City stopped accepting out of town, RCMP driver Police Background checks because City Council and Edmonton Taxi Commission wanted EPS to benefit from taxi/limo drivers annual Police Clearance revenue. Why this City Council doesn’t care about this? If Red Deer starts a tax collection app, could Edmontonians pay their property taxes to Red Deer instead of Edmonton?
There is a demand from Edmontonians not to raise property taxes, ban phot radar vans, ban speed traps, freeze City Staff pay hikes and legalize Marijuana are you meeting those demands?
Why EPS catch people who drive with out auto insurance and driver licenses? Why Police catch drug dealers? Drug dealers are meeting their clients demand and the transaction takes place between two adults. A drug dealer can tell this City Council that he is just meeting public demand, what’s wrong with that?
If a home owner lives out of Edmonton 9 months of the year, do you give him a break (reduced amount) on yearly property taxes?
Stop these unfortunate, double standards, you have been failed miserably to uphold the taxi Bylaw 14700. Now you want to cause an economic genocide for about 3500 full time employed Edmonton taxi and limo drivers.
Your crazy administration did not even bother to formly consult with Edmonton taxi and limo industry to draft this insane, full time job killer Bylaw 17400. Why, because of sheer incompetence or discrimination? Is this your, so called City Transparent Democracy or Dictatorship?
City took 30 years to make mandatory Public and Driver safety regulations and now you want to give it up for whose interest consumer or Uber?
On October 31, 2015, Vancouver City Council refused Uber. On October 6, 2015, Calgary City Council refused to lower limo minimum hourly rate of $84.60, which Uber wanted to kill Calgary limo industry.
Why Edmonton City Council is making limo minimum hourly rate of $0? Just to kill law abiding limo and taxi drivers investment and livelihood, so Uber Black Limo could obliterate any remaining business.
On September 30, 2015, Toronto City Council rejected 2 Tier System of Uber with marginalized regular taxis and limos on the basis of unequal playing field. Toronto has fixed the loop hole in the Bylaw, so UberX can no longer violate taxi bylaws. Toronto is trying to bring a new Bylaw for all Vehicles for Hire next year by June 2016.
If you have consumers and drivers well being at your democratic heart, you will not compromise on safety, training and fairness.
Uber is banned in most of Europe, Asia and South America. Guess what Uber is obeying the law in those jurisdictions and working as a regulated taxi company. Where ever TNC (PTP) system is operating, hundreds of unused taxi vehicles are rusting because of uneven playing field.
Edmonton has the highest number of single taxi plate owner operators 84%, 1108 out of 1319 total taxis in Edmonton. We are paying about 22 Million dollars per year to 4 brokers for commercial insurance and poor taxi dispatch. We want to be part of a long term solution to serve Edmontonians better. Hence, immediately start a City taxi dispatch app with taxi drivers money, this will bring drivers cost down and improve the service by leaps and bounds.
Consumers deserve clean, safe, reliable, environmental friendly, fully insured vehicles, properly vetted and trained drivers.
What’s next untrained, unlicensed and uninsured Uber Doctors, Uber Nurses, Uber Lawyers, Uber Judges, Uber Plumbers, Uber Electricians, Uber Welders, Uber Pharmacists, Uber Councillors, Uber Mayor?
Unemployed taxi drivers don’t have any EI and pension benefits, what is City’s contigency plan for thousands of taxi and limo drivers who will lose their livelihood and investment in the name of so called innovation “Made In Edmonton Solution”? You are virtually firing all law abiding Edmonton taxi and limo drivers, where is our lavish severance package you gave to City Manager Simon Farbrother?
On September 22, 2015, morning, Edmonton City Council laid out a plan to “End Poverty In A Generation” but unfortunately, in the afternoon just after lunch break lost the true spirit of their own plan and tried to throw about 3500 Edmonton taxi and limo drivers into deep poverty!
Therefore, we humbly request you to reject this senseless, UNFAIR 2 TIER Draft Bylaw 17400, issue 126 more Ambassdor taxi plates. Limit the age of Vehicle to 5 model years with mandatory mechanical inspection every 6 months. Make high resolution video cameras mandatory for customer & driver protection.
We are not afraid of a FAIR COMPETITION, where everyone plays by the same rules. Welcome Uber as a regulated taxi company!
Sincerely,
Law abiding Edmonton taxi and limo drivers
Edmonton taxi plate owners and limo drivers are struggling to make ends meet because of Uber. Hundreds of small businessmen taxi drivers have invested their hard earned money to buy taxi plates in a system created by the Edmonton City Council. The last taxi plate was sold for $230, 000 before Uber launched in Edmonton on December 18, 2014. Within 11 months taxi plates have lost 80% of their value as one taxi plate was just sold in Coop Taxi for about $50, 000 this month. On January 26, 2016, if City Council approved taxi and limo industry killer draft Bylaw 17400, taxi plates will be worthless.
We are in disbelief that City is eliminating all the regulations, fixed fares and driver training because that doesn’t fit with Uber business model. We know keeping a clean 3 years Alberta Driver’s Abstract with less than 7 demerit points, completing a 8 hours Defensive Driving Course regularly, English Proficiency Test, standard driver training, Car based GPS, emergency secret panic button for help, emergency trunk release, safety shields, high resolution video cameras, marked vehicles, full commercial insurance, commercial AB Class 1,2 or 4 driver licenses, regular vehicle mechanical inspections, vehicle age, extensive EPS Background Check with fingerprints to work with vulnerable people and a meter to calculate fares are barriers for Uber drivers. Uber doesn’t like fixed fares because when fares are regulated by municipal or provincial government then they must have to collect GST on the fares and remit to CRA regardless of drivers income. Alberta taxi drivers were remitting millions of dollars to Federal Govt. for GST but it doesn’t matter now, because Uber is above all the laws!
Taxi and Limo industry will be immediately dead when Alberta Govt. will create a new hybrid insurance policy just for Uber and when City will deregulate taxi industry with unlimited number of PTP (Private Transport Providers) vehicles on January 26, 2016. On average a taxi driver in Edmonton makes 10% of his income from street hails and 90% from dispatch trips which Uber is stealing. In American cities traditional taxis were only working with street hails and dispatch calls were served by Black Car Limo services, so there is no comparison between Canada & America. To kill Edmonton viable limo industry, City is eliminating limo minimum hourly rate of $75, so Uber Black Limo Service could thrive. Please ask yourself why Edmonton had $75 limo minimum hourly booking rate in place for many many years? Why Calgary City Council refused to lower limo minimum hourly rate of $84.60 on October 6, 2015.
Edmonton has the highest number of single taxi plate owner operators in Canada 1108 out of 1319 total taxis. Taxi drivers sold property, took second mortgage from banks, private lender loans, took high interest (13%) loans from cab companies and some even sold wife jewellery to buy taxi plates which you are making worthless. In taxi industry there are no retirement benefits, the only pension you have is the value of your taxi plate.
Taxi plate owners pain and suffering is unbearable. You are destroying struggling, under employed immigrant plate owner operator families. Please give us a fair compensation ($250, 000 per taxi plate) for the devaluation of our taxi plates before plate owners go into deep depression and the worst someone commits a suicide. The consequences are very real, please put yourself into the shoes of a taxi plate owner. Only very few elected officials understand the gravity of this matter. You are not only taking away drivers life savings but their full time livelihood as well. Dreams for kids good education, retirement and “An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay” are long gone!