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Taxis and ride-sharing in Toronto

tiffer24 said:
Can the taxi industry go after individual Uber customers? Drag a few lambs into court much like the downloading pirated material cases from a few years ago. Go for the jugular, bankrupt a few Uber customers with court costs and that will scare away most Uber customers.
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As a deaf person, who can't call taxi companies easily, I would put up a good defense, and may counter-sue.

Can we sue the taxi companies to be forced to provide apps with:

(1) App with button to hail car quickly to your current GPS position;
(2) Displays estimate on phone beforehand;
(3) pre-pay ability;
(4) pre-routed to destination even before taxi arrives;
(5) provide picture of driver and picture of car before I hail;
(6) allows me to click "Cancel" if I don't like it, or if catch a different ride (bus/train) before.
(7) allows me to watch my hailed heading towards me via GPS phone map;
(8) allow me to leave car immediately after trip, or even beforehand;
(9) no payments inside the car (phone handled transaction automatically);
(10) displays user reviews and ratings of driver;
(11) allows me to rate them after I've exited the ride.

Uber does all the above....
Can we somehow have legal Uber-like taxi services?

Can this become law, legislation to force taxi companies to do this?
Can we demand taxi companies do the above?
Can Beck change to do all the above like Uber is doing?
Not just three or four bullets, but ALL of the above?
Call it the "Taxi Customer Bill Of Rights" maybe?

You see, as a deafie, who can't use the phone directly without a relay (that sometimes puts me on hold for 20 minutes before dialing the taxi line), I like the "Uber user experience" even if I don't like the "Uber corporate tactics" portion.

I'm in many ways, happy to pay 1.5x as much fare. I've only ridden Uber once in my lifetime; was amazed at the 'technology' of it. The Uber price isn't as important. It's the convenience, safety, and security of app hailing a taxi, seeing the car, seeing picture of driver, knowing its enroute as a moving dot on map, prepaying even before it arrives!

Can Beck upgrade to this, please?
 
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Napoleon said:
Perhaps the taxi association could sue the government if they were not enforcing a clear statue.
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I was kinda surprised the city/province weren't named as defendants if only to make a point, then remove them later on.
 
TOareaFan said:
I am no fan of Uber but I think you are right....maybe, even, the government can't sue them but, rather, charge them and (if found guilty) levy the penalties that are contemplated in the law they are guilty of breaking.
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They can lay penalties, but how the Highway Traffic Act is worded, only a police officer or appointed officer (who ever that may be) are the only ones who can lay chargers under the act, so I'll be surprised if the court will pick this up.
 
Why do people think that licensing was created in the first place? Do they honestly think there was no reason for it except for government busybodies?

No doubt that the system is broken. But I'm skeptical that "just get rid of it" is a solution.
 
mdrejhon said:
(1) App with button to hail car quickly to your current GPS position;
(2) Displays estimate on phone beforehand;
(3) pre-pay ability;
(4) pre-routed to destination even before taxi arrives;
(5) provide picture of driver and picture of car before I hail;
(6) allows me to click "Cancel" if I don't like it, or if catch a different ride (bus/train) before.
(7) allows me to watch my hailed heading towards me via GPS phone map;
(8) allow me to leave car immediately after trip, or even beforehand;
(9) no payments inside the car (phone handled transaction automatically);
(10) displays user reviews and ratings of driver;
(11) allows me to rate them after I've exited the ride.
Click to expand...
It's my understanding some major taxi companies are FINALLY now working on this now to match the features that Uber provides (all the above). About time!

How many of the above bullets (if not all), does the upcoming new Airport Taxi App, as well as the upcoming new Beck Taxi app, support the above? Three-quarters of the above bullets? Does anyone know?

It improves overall safety, it improves accessibility (For the speech challenged, like deafies and foreigners). It improves driver friendliness, it forces taxi drivers to drives safer and better to earn more fares, it improves convenience (needing to exit quick to catch plane because the phone paid) including taking payment handling out of the driver's hands -- avoiding exposing myself to payment scams with certain bad-apple taxi drivers taking advantage of disadvantaged), THE ABOVE FEATURES SHOULD BE LAW for taxis, full stop under accessibility laws, crime-reduction laws and safety laws!

-- as a deaf person sometimes unable to communicate a destination without a pen and paper -- and taxi driver sometimes starts driving before I successfully communicate a destination (that's INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS given the need for visual communication to a deafie like me) -- An YES, before you suggest, yes I have tried bringing a notepad or typing large-font-size text on an iPad (for them to read) before entering a car. But some of those taxi drivers can't read very well and start going in the wrong direction -- the taxi experience can rank below "cleaning toilets" or "doing taxes".

Does anyone know what Uber-style features the upcoming new versions of Toronto taxi apps support?
So I don't have to say words to taxi drivers (or even point), ever again, as a deafie?
 
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mdrejhon said:
It's my understanding some major taxi companies are working on this now to match the features that Uber provides (all the above).

How many of the above bullets (if not all), does the upcoming new Airport Taxi App, as well as the upcoming new Beck Taxi app, support the above? Does anyone know?
.
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Beck's app offers none of the 11 points listed above.
 
mdrejhon said:
The news articles this week in multiple papers are mentioning taxi companies are working on new hailing apps.
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Too little, too late.
 
Whether you use Uber or Taxi's should really be an assessment of how much risk you are willing to accept. If the vehicle you are in gets into an accident - you are insured in a taxi; you are probably not insured in an Uber vehicle. Besides not having to pay licensing fees not having to pay for commercial insurance is why Uber drivers can undercut taxi rates. If Uber drivers told their insurance company that they where operating a commercial livery vehicle then the increase in their insurance rates would likely make Uber unprofitable for them. In an accident in the Uber vehicle you would likely have to sue the driver yourself, which could take years to work through the courts before you see any money.
 
howl said:
Whether you use Uber or Taxi's should really be an assessment of how much risk you are willing to accept. If the vehicle you are in gets into an accident - you are insured in a taxi; you are probably not insured in an Uber vehicle. Besides not having to pay licensing fees not having to pay for commercial insurance is why Uber drivers can undercut taxi rates. If Uber drivers told their insurance company that they where operating a commercial livery vehicle then the increase in their insurance rates would likely make Uber unprofitable for them. In an accident in the Uber vehicle you would likely have to sue the driver yourself, which could take years to work through the courts before you see any money.
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In California which has regulated the type of insurance that Uber drivers must carry there are quite a few companies which offer an Uber rider on an existing policy. It won't break the bank...8% additional cost (from Farmer's...and similar to other companies). So about $120 assuming a $1500 policy

This is as I understand it to cover the driver after he turns on the Uber app and prior to picking up a passenger. After a review the California regulator was comfortable that the insurance policy that Uber has covers the driver and rider after the pick-up. (I'm not sure if Uber had to modify their policy)
 
CDL.TO said:
Why do people think that licensing was created in the first place? Do they honestly think there was no reason for it except for government busybodies?

No doubt that the system is broken. But I'm skeptical that "just get rid of it" is a solution.
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the point is vast majority of riders like Uber way more than the taxis, doesn't this count more? Does it show people are so sick of Toronto's taxis?
Regulation? You mean all the fees and charges as well as artificial limit of supply to make Toronto's taxi fair the highest in North America - even higher than NYC and one of the most expensive in the world? Toronto may be a rich city, but hardly not that rich.

What's funny and laughable here is the taxi unions use "safety" as a reason to oppose Uber, as if that's why they hate it. Why the hypocrisy? Why not simply say "you offer a cheaper, more convenient service people like a lot more, which put my income at risk"? Instead of improving the taxi system and cutting its damn cost, we resort to ban a new service riders simply love and rave about? What kind of backward society do we live in now?

I don't care about the jobs of taxi drivers. If the market doesn't need them, then they should find new jobs. It should bear zero significance in the discussion. We didn't keep typists when computer is invented, did we? As to insurance matter, there are plenty of modification of regulation that may be done, but Uber should definitely stay, and it will still be vastly cheaper and better than the taxi. I don't mind the entire taxi industry is wiped out in Toronto due to lack of competitiveness. If they want to survive, they should improve themselves instead of seeking to ban this and that, which is sickening.
 
CDL.TO said:
Why do people think that licensing was created in the first place? Do they honestly think there was no reason for it except for government busybodies?

No doubt that the system is broken. But I'm skeptical that "just get rid of it" is a solution.
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Simply to make money for the city. Remember that in Ontario, cities were limited in the ways they could raise revenue for the city coffers.
 
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