The Walrus talks about the fight between Toronto Uber and the taxi drivers in their latest issue HERE. According to the article, “The mayor wants to create a “level playing field,” where ride sharing can go bumper to bumper with licensed taxis. But for that to work, “Uber can’t continue operating like it’s the Wild West, where you can have anyone you like driving a car around without any regulation whatsoever. That’s not in the public interest.” Find out more about the people behind Uber HERE.
Uber is just one of the growing number of examples of how the modern generation is looking to help each other out. You can now book a couch (couch surfing) in someone’s living room in any country in the world, at a significant rate cut from a traditional hotel. Airbnb offers rooms in houses all around the world, stays for overnight or longer. You can find any article that you want searching in kijiji or craigslist. No store front, middle men or advertising dollars exchanged.
What should the politicians do, if anything, to curb this type of underground economy? Is it fair to the workers of the existing institutions? What do you think?
Digitizeme 
This is a tough topic, i understand where both sides are coming from. The taxi drivers feel that it is unfair that Uber drivers are stealing all of there customers and that they only have to watch a 16 minute video and sign up online to become an Uber. Where as Uber drivers just want to make some money by driving people around in there cars. I feel that taxis should be a thing of the past, i get that there are so many jobs in the taxi industry and a lot of hard working people trying to support there families. However Uber is the future, you can see where the closest Uber is and pay all from your smartphone, oh and it is very inexpensive and easy to split the bill with your friends you are driving with. A point from the article is when the demand is the highest the cost of using an Uber is reflected by that, your Uber could be twice, three times and even four times the price it would be during a non busy time. Therefor if the taxi drivers switch to becoming Uber drivers it will save everyone money because there will be way more Uber’s out there. I feel strongly that taxi companies should make the transition to becoming Uber drivers, like they said in the article there is always a need for drivers so if taxi drivers are frustrated about loosing business to Uber drivers, they should take action and join the revolution that is Uber.
I believe that one day a service as Uber will be a great one. In my opinion it is a genius, innovative, easy, modern way of transportation; but I don’t believe now is the time for Uber. Many taxi drivers are new to the country and are just trying to make a living. I did outside research and it stated that the median annual pay for an Uber driver is upwards of $90,000! Yet the median annual wage for a taxi driver is just $30,000. Every Uber driver will receive 40% of the fare. I also watched a video that compared a 1 mile ride with Uber, to a 1 mile ride in a taxi. Uber topped the taxi cab in comfort; the male stated he had lots of leg room, complimentary water, driver was talkative, and and it smelt nice in the car. Uber also tops the taxi cab in ease of use. The taxi you must call and wait, or sit on the corner and wait for an empty cab to come by, where Uber uses a quick and easy app that gets the driver there within minutes. One huge down side of Uber are the “surge prices” which spike prices as high as 18x the normal fare during low peak times. This surge pricing made an $8.00 ride into a $92.00 ride. I believe that in the future, Uber could be a hugely successful transportation company, but with problems like surge pricing, non-liscneced drivers, and having means of the taxi cab service, or bussing, many people will hesitate on choosing Uber.
In my opinion, I think it is completely fair in terms of the competition between “Uber Drivers” and taxi drivers. The competition between these two rivals is as normal as any other competition that is seen between companies. Look at Apple and Microsoft, the big debate of a Mac or a PC, although there is a debate between the two both are still very successful companies! So I don’t understand why there is a need to stop “Uber drivers” from operating in Toronto. I do understand why taxi drivers feel attacked in this situation because they are losing their customers and money, however if their customers are low why not just decrease the price of their service to compete with the competition? The taxi drivers need to face this situation and not try to run away from it because like in most situations in life there is always competition.
In my opinion, I feel that taking the Uber is the way to go instead of taking a taxi from a passenger’s perspective. The Uber is much more convenient because of how quick and easy it is while taxi’s have a much longer response time because you have to tell them your exact location. For Uber, all you have to do is go on to the app, request a driver and choose the location of where you want to go. After you reach your location all you have to do is pay him and it is done on the app. Everything is done on the app and is much more reliable. I think that the taxi companies should start implementing these things onto an app of there own to have alternative ways to contact the driver. It may not be fair to the taxi companies but since lots of things are becoming more advanced, some things are not, like taxi’s. Taxi’s have been the same for a very long time and they are very expensive to use. Advancing the taxi companies and bringing them onto mobile phones will bring many costumers back to help the workers get more money to help the economy grow. If you can’t beat them, join them and improve on them.
It’s absolutely unfair that these Ontario registered taxi drivers are being undermined by the new application and fad of “Uber Drivers.” These taxi drivers are usually those who are new to the country, although stereotypical it is somewhat true, and they are trying to make a living off of their job. If you have these “Uber” drivers stealing business from these legitimate taxi drivers how are they supposed to make a name or even living for themselves and perhaps their families? I understand that perhaps “Uber-ing” is cheaper but what Canadian citizens or anyone, for that matter, taking a cab over an Uber should think about is not the cost but the people they are supporting. I guess what I am saying is that if it is within your means to pay a little extra and take a cab then you should!