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Taxis and ride-sharing in Toronto
- Thread starter Admiral Beez
- Start date
Juan_Lennon416
Senior Member
With or without the Ford brothers, crazy is here to stay in Toronto.
And crazy from both sides of the political fence
Napoleon
Active Member
Well it appears that Uber has been given the city council version of Dinesafe's "Conditional Pass"
http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/09/toronto_is_ready_to_regulate_uber/
Various news articles have somewhat different spins, but it appears they by and large punted the issue to next year but with the view that Uber should continue to operate and be regulated. Although the non-binding request to not operate until they pass such legislation is also rather humorous.
I tried to find the exact text of the resolutions and the vote breakdown, but nothing was up on the city council website yet.
http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/09/toronto_is_ready_to_regulate_uber/
Various news articles have somewhat different spins, but it appears they by and large punted the issue to next year but with the view that Uber should continue to operate and be regulated. Although the non-binding request to not operate until they pass such legislation is also rather humorous.
I tried to find the exact text of the resolutions and the vote breakdown, but nothing was up on the city council website yet.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Has there been any talk of the province regulating Uber?
Uber's business model is set up to avoid minimum wage laws (and maximize profits) by hiring drivers as self-employed contracts. I think it's about time that the province shuts down this and similar operations (Not just Uber... I think the taxi business and others work similarly). I find this to be a much bigger issue than them not following municipal by-laws regarding medallions. It's not right to allow companies to skirt our minimum wage laws to exploit workers.
Uber's business model is set up to avoid minimum wage laws (and maximize profits) by hiring drivers as self-employed contracts. I think it's about time that the province shuts down this and similar operations (Not just Uber... I think the taxi business and others work similarly). I find this to be a much bigger issue than them not following municipal by-laws regarding medallions. It's not right to allow companies to skirt our minimum wage laws to exploit workers.
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Filip
Senior Member
But all Uber driver that I've met do it part time. I don't think anyone does it as a full time job. It's a way of making extra cash with your sometimes expensive, depreciating asset.
muller877
Senior Member
There are hundreds of thousands of self-employed workers who eat what they sell. The key aspect of the rules is that no employer can force them just to work for one employer. These individuals can work for many and stop working with no or little notice. Many appreciate the flexibility. You can make a ton of money or very little...it all depends on how much you work and the skill set you possess.
I can think of a lot of jobs that use self-employed individuals. You can make more or less than minimum wage all depending on how much you work. Insurance sales, website design, ... the list is endless
CodeMonkey
Active Member
The province seems to be sitting this one out; Uber is too popular, and the Taxi association is too powerful, so I doubt they want to be part of that fray unless the courts or the city itself drags it into the debate.
Napoleon
Active Member
This guy really is 100% in the taxi drivers' pockets. It's really astonishing.Now that sounds like a sensible solution...
DavidNickle 3:42pm via Twitter Web Client
Mammoliti has moved a motion to ask the province for permission to seize illegal Uber vehicles.
the lemur
Senior Member
What's in it for him, though? Do a lot of taxi drivers live in ward 7?
Napoleon
Active Member
You know, oops, I'm confusing him with Jim Karygiannis who got all the donations from the taxi drivers. It seems its rather easy to conflate some of the crazies on council.
BMO
Senior Member
Actually, might be just my luck, but every Uber I've taken so far has been predominantly temporarily full-time because they've lost their job, etc.
I haven't met someone who has been doing it full-time for a longtime though. Seems like it's more of a temporary gig until you find something a little more stable with better hours, etc.
yin_yang
Active Member
So is everyone returning to regular taxis now that the initial fee has dropped by a dollar?
cplchanb
Senior Member
So is everyone returning to regular taxis now that the initial fee has dropped by a dollar?
well from cbc radio this morning customers interviewed at union station will still stick with uber simply because of the generally better vehicles, driver attitude etc
Napoleon
Active Member
Yeah, normal taxis are still quite a bit more expensive. I also love the responsiveness of Uber. I had a bad Uber experience recently (ran a red light, non-working seatbelt, wrong way on a one-way), really the kinds of things cabs do all the time. Uber responded within 10 minutes of writing them and promptly refunded my fare. That's part of what makes it great, is that the drivers are held accountable for both their driving and the condition of the vehicles.