Poll finds Uber ridership and satisfaction on the rise

But Toronto Taxi Alliance says key questions weren’t asked

Forum Research Inc. has released a poll showing increased use and rider satisfaction for Uber in Toronto.

The poll asked 802 Toronto adults a variety of questions comparing the ridesharing service to taxis.

About 28 per cent of those polled have used Uber — up from 18 per cent in April of 2015 — and the majority of users were happy with the service they received, according to the poll results.

Ninety-three per cent of those who had used Uber said they were satisfied with the experience, far outstripping the 52 per cent who said they were satisfied with their taxi experience.

“The users . . . are really, really happy with Uber,” said Lorne Bozinoff, Forum’s president. “That’s what’s driving this whole usage. If people were as happy using taxis, I don’t know if we’d be seeing this kind of penetration in terms of usage.”

But Rita Smith, a representative of the Toronto Taxi Alliance, said the poll’s numbers don’t tell the whole story.

According to Smith, the poll doesn’t take into account senior citizens and people with disabilities, for whom using Uber may not be an option.

“We have disability advocate groups that are terrified that Uber will shut down the taxi system,” she said, adding that taxis are the only equitable transport option for people with disabilities.

“If you’re 28 years old and you have a credit card and a cellphone . . . that’s great,” she said.

“But there’s a huge chunk of the market (that) can never use Uber.”

In fact, the poll’s methodology breakdown reveals that only 7 per cent of the 201 respondents 65 or older had used Uber. The poll did not ask about disabilities.

Smith also pointed out that the poll did not ask how people felt about the fact Uber drivers are uninsured and that the service is technically illegal.

“If this poll had bothered to ask, ‘Are you concerned that Uber is breaking multiple laws and uninsured?’ you might get a different result,” she said. “How skewed is this poll?”

The poll also revealed that 38 per cent of respondents sided with Uber in the current dispute with cabbies, compared to 29 per cent who sup- ported the taxi drivers.

Although taxi drivers continue to battle Uber for public support, Bozinoff said it may already be too late, as the ride-sharing service has been building up a customer base that will make it harder for the city to deregulate it.

“It’s going to be hard to put the genie back in the bottle in terms of Uber, because people know what it is, they’ve tried it and they like it.”