Ride-sharing revolution could be more of a ripple

SASKATOON Saskatoon certainly falls short of being a perfect city, but it’s difficult to deny the Paris of Prairies is fairly unique.

As a mid-sized city closing in on 300,000 people that endures bitterly, sometimes unrelentingly cold winters, it’s difficult to find another comparable community in Canada, other than Regina. That makes predictions about how the introduction of ride-sharing companies will affect the city’s transportation landscape extremely difficult.

Those anticipating a breathtaking transformation of transportation should likely temper their expectations.

Provincial legislation to allow ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft and Tappcar comes into effect this fall. Saskatoon’s regulations are set to follow and lead the way for the province.

The Saskatchewan Party government heralded the adoption of ride-sharing legislation as ammunition in the crackdown on drunk driving. Curbing impaired operation of a vehicle seems admirable, but is there any evidence to suggest that will actually happen?

The possibility hinges, at least in part, on whether enough ridesharing drivers are ready with their vehicles plugged in at 1 a.m. to help transport the inebriated folks home from the bar during the cold winters. Who knows?

Are people driving drunk because of the cost and dearth of taxis or just the inconvenience of leaving their vehicles overnight and perhaps needing a boost the next day?

The driving force behind the introduction of ride-sharing in Saskatoon seems to be people who have tried it in larger cities and find it works well.

An Uber Canada representative from Vancouver — where they are still working on legislation to allow for ride-sharing — told reporters in Saskatoon last month that ride-sharing works well in cities Saskatoon’s size.

How well it works, however, will hinge on the rules concocted by Saskatoon city hall.

City council will make a final decision on July 23, but indications suggest it could opt for a route that would make appbased ride-sharing here more expensive than elsewhere.

Council’s transportation committee voted last month to set the minimum charge for a ridesharing trip at $3.75, the same as for taxis. That is higher than any of the six Canadian cities studied by Saskatoon city hall. Edmonton’s base charge is $3.25, as is Toronto’s, while London, Ont., has set a minimum of $3.50.

Three other cities — Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa — have opted not to set a ride-sharing base rate. Ride-sharing companies operate using surge pricing, meaning it’s cheap during low demand times and more expensive during peak times.

Saskatoon’s transportation committee also endorsed a proposal by Mayor Charlie Clark to study recouping the costs of administration to accommodate ride-sharing. That represents a similar approach to the city’s controversial $20,000 licence fee for marijuana retail stores, which is designed to cover the city’s expenses for regulating them.

Clark suggested the cost of regulating ride-sharing could be much higher than that of marijuana stores.

In other words, ride-sharing could be expensive in Saskatoon, since, as with the cannabis retailers, those costs will inevitably be passed along to the consumer.

As for proposals to make Saskatoon taxi service more flexible, despite the amount of time spent by city administration and the transportation committee, no clear recommendation has emerged. The taxi companies and the union representing drivers have floated different proposals.

London, Ont., is still struggling with how to accommodate the taxi industry nearly a year after introducing ride-sharing. Its council is still talking about the same issues as in Saskatoon on how to create a level playing field, including security, fees and the number of cabs licensed.

The road to ride-sharing seems to be filled with Saskatoon’s stereotypical potholes.