Edmonton's Uber-less experiences a lesson for Toronto

Mayor advises his Toronto counterparts to protect the taxi industry while offering residents transportation alternatives.

Thestar.com
April 13, 2016
By David Rider

A funny thing happened after Edmonton passed a bylaw much like one about to be debated in Toronto to legalize Uber and other ride-booking services alongside traditional taxis.

The Alberta government stepped in with its own rules, preventing Uber from returning to the capital until the province OKs insurance for part-time drivers that will be cheaper than current taxi coverage.

Some Edmonton investors quickly filled the void by launching TappCar, an Uber rival that connects riders, via an app or phone, to drivers who are independent contractors using their own cars.

Now with about 250 cars, TappCar is unlike the UberX service in that it uses full-time drivers with commercial insurance and the professional licence demanded by Alberta for so-called “private transportation providers.”

The experience is a possible alternate route for Toronto’s debate that has so far pitted the taxi industry against UberX, which has become locally entrenched while operating outside the law.

“I think we have disproven Uber’s argument that you can’t follow the rules and still make a bit of money, be a sustainable business, and provide a good experience for our customers and our drivers,” says TappCar spokesman Pascal Ryffel, adding that 16,000 people have downloaded the app in three weeks.

TappCars, he says, are piloted by a mix of former taxi and Uber drivers plus laid-off bus and truck drivers who came south from the ailing oilpatch.

They are being unionized by the Teamsters, with the company’s blessing, and can pay the company $125 per week plus 15 per cent of fares, or $250 per week and 0 per cent of fares. Peak-time pricing is modest compared with Uber’s “surge” surcharges, he says.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said he expects Uber to return to his city after insurance is sorted out, in late spring or summer, but he’s pleased the bylaw passed in late January is already giving Edmontonians more choice.

Iveson notes Edmonton was unusual in that it had an acknowledged taxi shortage, but says it offers lessons for Toronto councillors who will start debating their proposed bylaw this week.

“I’d advise an abundance of caution to make sure that the cab business is viable into the future, but it must look different than it has in the past,” he says, noting only metered taxis can pick up street hails and be at taxi stands.

“It has been in desperate need of modernization for a very long time and this disruption is the opportunity to do that and meet transportation needs, particularly of young urban Canadians, in a much better way.

“Our public is already there; they desperately want new choices, but not in an unregulated way or a way that in any way endangers public safety.

“In a lot of cases people using private transportation providers were either not going out before, or they were driving, or they were carpooling, or they were taking transit.

“Now they’ve got lots of different choices, and that mobility is a net benefit to the community.”