On Uber, government ‘should get out of the way’
National Post readers answer the question, “Should municipalities loosen their grips on the taxi industry?”
Can’t stop progress
❚It seems that cities want to ban alternate forms of transportation, many of which provide employment and cheaper rides for average people. Once again, here we have municipal administrations bent on forcing their union-backed rules and regulations on the public, to heck with the free market. In Ottawa, they even had their bylaw officers working undercover to stop Uber drivers, which, in my opinion, was beyond the pale. Technological progress cannot be stopped.
Steve Flanagan, Ottawa.
Working outside the rules
❚No, municipalities should not loosen their grips on the taxi industry. It is unscrupulous when a company has gone through hoops to gain a licence, only to have its business swept under the wheels of an innovative UberX Car, which operates without restrictions. Many pseudo-private vehicles have tried this in the past — Uber is not the first.
Madeleine Wannop Ross Salter, Stoney Creek, Ont.
Charge a fixed amount
❚I believe most taxi drivers are honest, dedicated and hard working individuals who aim to please their customers. There are some bad apples in the bunch who perhaps take advantage of their customers by taking a circuitous route to the destination, and even passing and then returning to the exact address given by the client. I have had that experience. I would hate to see what they would do to tourists who do not know the city. There is a solution to this problem: charge a fixed amount per kilometre and let the customer know in advance of the exact fare for the completed trip. If this and other conditions are met, there could still be some room left to loosen the grip on the taxi industry.
Fred Perry, Surrey, B.C.
Government should back away
❚The very fact that we are having this conversation highlights how governments still follow the age-old practice of paternalism when dealing with its citizens. Perfectly rational people — having been raised under the paternalistic umbrella — will surely spring to the defence of municipalities and their supposed right to defend us against the evils of rogue taxi companies. While there is a role for government to play with respect to our protection, control over what transportation you may choose to use is not one of them. As in all things of this nature, the marketplace will decide the success or failure of a business. Government should do what is does best when dealing with a commercial enterprise: back away.
Jeff Spooner, Kinburn, Ont.
Lose the boundaries
❚Taxi apps are the undeniable wave of the future for the taxi industry, and many local taxi companies are scrambling to get on board this new technological business platform. The problem for the municipally regulated brokers, taxi owners and drivers is that while Uber can operate outside of the regulatory envelope currently in place, these brokers and owners cannot legally do so. It is my opinion that the entire regulatory infrastructure of the taxi industry is moving beyond the capabilities of municipal legislators. Many commentators are calling for the GTHA to become a single public transportation entity managed by a provincial body, Metrolinx. It has occurred to me that this may be the way the taxi industry has to go. Taxi customers are not particularly concerned with municipal boundaries.
Mark Sexsmith (Sales Manager, All Star Taxi), Mississauga, Ont.
Freedom to ride
❚Who are these politicians and bureaucrats — many of whom are strangers to the real world of enterprise, initiative and innovation — who would deny Canadians the right to offer the services provided by Uber and the like? Who are these people to arbitrarily interfere in our natural freedoms? Who are these people who look down on their fellow citizens with such condescension and lack of respect, while fattening themselves at the banquet of our tax dollars?
Iain G. Foulds, Spruce Grove, Alta.
Get out of the way
❚Municipalities (and all governments) should get out of the way of entrepreneurs in the taxi industry and in all industries. Free enterprise is the fundamental cause of delivering ever better services and products at ever-lower prices. Governments are supposed to protect individual rights — not prevent people from offering us better value at lower cost.
Glenn Woiceshyn, Calgary.
Deregulation has failed
❚Regardless of the municipality, local taxi industries are heavily regulated, and for very good reason. The long list of requirements by which cab drivers must abide, not only ensures consumer protection, but also the opportunity to earn a reasonable living. Past attempts at deregulation failed miserably, as opportunists flooded the market, rendering it all but impossible to make a living wage. In each instance, re-regulation was necessary to restore order. In life, you play by the rules, whether an individual or an international corporation like Uber. As long as Uber insists on operating outside the system, they threaten the stability of taxi industries everywhere, and most assuredly are not welcome.
Peter D. Pellier, Oakville, Ont.
Let the market decide
❚How do you think the taxi industry got into such a mess? Municipal politicians interfering in business is how. They created monopolies and oligarchs that have no competition or incentive to provide better service. The taxi business is supply management, much like the dairy industry in Canada. It’s time for municipalities to get out of the way and let the market decide who should be in business.
Keith Brady, Empress, Alta.