Uber to launch car-pooling service as city continues to draft new regulations

CP24.com
Jan. 11, 2016
By Chris Fox

Uber will launch yet another new service in Toronto on Wednesday as city staff continue work on new regulations that are aimed at curtailing the competitive advantage currently possessed by the company and leveling the playing field with conventional taxis.

The new service, dubbed UberPool, will allow customers travelling in the same direction at the same time to ride together and reduce their fares by as much as 30 per cent.

The service, which Uber first rolled out for a two-week trial during the Pan American Games, will be available to travellers in area abounded by Jane Street to the west, Victoria Park Avenue to the east, Highway 401 to the north and Lake Ontario to the south as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

“Our vision for uberPOOL is simple. We want to reduce the number of cars on the road, while providing Torontonians with transportation that’s more affordable than ever,” Uber said in a statement posted to its website. “When two people share their ride, that’s one less car on the road and a cheaper fare for both riders.”

The launch of UberPool comes at a time when the company is facing increasing scrutiny.

Last month, taxi drivers staged a day-long protest outside city hall in which they called for increased enforcement of bylaws seemingly banning the ride-sharing service.

City staff are also currently working on new ground transportation regulations that Mayor John Tory has promised will specifically target Uber and will help to “level the playing field” for taxi drivers.

Meanwhile, the TTC’s legal team is continuing to look into whether Uber’s flat-rate, rush-hour commuting service that launched in December violates its monopoly on public transit services.

Reacting to Uber's latest expansion on Monday, Coun. Joe Mihevc posted a message to Twitter slamming the company.

"It's time to call Uber on their flagrant unwillingness to work with any rules save their own," he wrote.