SuppliedOn Jan. 29, the city of Edmonton passed a new vehicle-for-hire bylaw that will begin the process of legalizing ride-sharing companies such as notoriously controversial Uber by March 1st of this year. Several things need to occur for this to happen however, such as an updated insurance policy for Uber drivers and vehicles, and fines will increase to $5,000 if these insurance requirements are not met.
According to CBC, an initial concern for cab companies is that taxis must not only compete for passengers but drivers who may be attracted to looser regulations under Uber. However, taxi companies will still be the only transportation company on the market that is allowed in person hails, or over the phone. Uber will still function exclusively on the app, with a small decal somewhere on the vehicle that is small enough so people will not be able to identify Uber vehicles on the road.
“They are required to observe a standard minimum rate of $3.25 for any transportation in the city,” Mayor Don Iveson elaborates in an interview with The Edmonton Journal. “No one is giving away rides for free — that just undermines the market.”
“I am optimistic with the direction we are headed: it allows room for taxis to still be successful, but it opens up room for competition and ensures safety in the private transportation sector,” Iveson elaborates.
My experiences with cabs are as follows, and I digress, I have had mostly good experiences with cabs that I remember — yet I have had a number of poor experiences, which were too significant and too often to overlook.
My worst memory of a cab was last summer. I was picked up in a cab with a friend of mine from Evolution, the queer bar downtown. The cabbie asked if we were dating, we answered no. Ignoring our response, he then asked how we have sex — we did not answer, clearly uncomfortable, and he laughed and shook his head at us and ignored us for the remainder of the trip. It was incredibly uncomfortable, yet fortunately I was lucky it stopped there. Other friends of mine who are queer have been called faggots and dykes numerous times, friends who were dressed in drag have been denied rides, or have been asked personal and invasive questions. And these stories are not exclusive to my group of friends: in the queer community I hear these stories a lot. Aren’t cab companies supposed to be providing exceptional service, and safe and reliable transportation?
Contrarily, my experience with Uber has been very good. I was initially skeptical — the idea of getting into a personal vehicle with a random person was unnerving, but it ended up being a comfortable and professional experience. You download the app, input your credit card number, and are assigned a driver. They pick you up, drive you to your destination in their own car, then drop you off. Done. No money exchange or tip required. You are also immediately prompted to rate them on the app afterwards, which ensures accountability: if there’s a creepy, discriminatory or otherwise poor experience — you just hit them with a 1/5, which is not in their best interest because other Uber users can see this rating. I believe this accountability that exists with Uber is very good company practice and ensures passengers are safe and getting the best quality experience possible.
I think cab companies need to be accountable for their inconsistent service and malpractice — they no longer have the monopoly of transportation services in Edmonton because a few horrible employees ruined it for every one else. Yet, those people could have been trying harder to give customers the best experience possible so ride share companies, like Uber wouldn’t have had to begin services in Edmonton, due to peoples’ dissatisfaction with cab companies. I can speak for many people when I say I do not think people should worry when they into a cab if they are going to be discriminated against, harassed, or denied a ride due to the way they are. We should all feel safe, and personally I feel a lot safer with Uber.
