Consumers need a champion to overhaul city’s taxi regulations

The lack of leadership at city hall on Uber is a disservice to Calgarians

Now that the federal election campaign is behind us, perhaps Calgary’s mayor can turn his attention to some rather pressing municipal issues.

It’s nice, I suppose, that Naheed Nenshi can wax eloquent about the pitfalls of a federal bill to strip Canadian citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism, or the perils of regulating face- obscuring religious garb.

It would be even nicer, however, if the mayor could be as outspoken about the need to overhaul the taxi industry in Calgary and be a champion for consumers.

Uber’s decision to officially launch its ride- sharing program in Calgary may not have had anything to do with the federal election campaign, but it did seem to come at a time when Nenshi was rather preoccupied. Moreover, though, it’s unclear whether Uber sees the mayor as an ally or an obstacle. I doubt that it’s any clearer to Calgarians.

That’s not to say Nenshi has been silent on Uber’s intentions or arrival. Nenshi has always expressed a willingness to change the status quo and allow services like Uber to compete. At the same time, however, he has been harshly critical of the company. Last November, for example, he accused Uber of acting like “jerks.”

Following Uber’s launch last week, Nenshi released a statement that both denounced Uber, while at the same time, maintaining a willingness to welcome them to Calgary at some point.

Nenshi declared that he is “not opposed to changing our laws to allow companies like Uber to operate in Calgary.” That’s hardly a ringing endorsement of the need for change, nor is it any kind of gauntlet being thrown down to the status quo. We know what it looks like when Nenshi is motivated to make a difference, and we just don’t see it here.

The mayor went on to speak to his concerns about Uber, primarily his concern that Uber drivers are not adequately insured. Uber maintains that this is not the case, but Alberta’s superintendent of insurance has suggested that there may indeed be coverage gaps.

Uber has recently struck an agreement with a major insurance provider to develop a hybrid form of insurance to cover those who might freelance with a ridesharing company, so this may all soon be a moot point.

However, those are issues to be resolved at a provincial level. If the mayor believes there’s nothing at the municipal level preventing the entry of ride sharing, and if he truly believes that the consumer would benefit from such open competition, then why isn’t he stumping for that? Why isn’t he denouncing the status quo with the same level of righteous indignation that he was denouncing the Conservative campaign with?

It’s preferable, I suppose, to have half- hearted support for change as opposed to outright opposition, but all that has got us is baby steps and foot- dragging at city hall. Consumers deserve a champion. Maybe that’s Coun. Evan Woolley, who seems to understand the need for change and has spoken about letting the market reign.

Why aren’t there more voices on council like his? Why aren’t we being a leader in designing a modern and competitive taxi system?

And if the mayor really supports change, why isn’t he using his influence and leverage to try and make it happen?

We might have a few more cabs on the roads, but for the most part, the taxi cartel remains, and consumers continue to suffer. Edmonton, for its part, has brought forward a bylaw to specifically allow ride- sharing programs like Uber to operate legally.

Instead, here in Calgary, we get threats from bylaw officials to ticket Uber drivers.

Maybe it’s true that Uber is being impatient, or aggressive even, in trying to enter the Calgary market. But given the tepid interest at city hall — from the mayor on down — in overhauling the status quo, it’s hard to blame them.