Mayor says Guelph should embrace Uber, not fight it

City must find a way of benefiting from the shared economy, because it's not going away says mayor

Sudbury.com
June 21, 2016
By Tony Saxon

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie wants the city to embrace Uber, not fight it.

The mayor says the ride-sharing service can help manage Guelph's transportation needs and the city should be at the forefront of doing that.

"It is something that's going to have to be addressed. We can't hide our head in the sand on this anymore," Guthrie said in an interview.

"My preference is that we, as a city, embrace the shared economy. Work with all stakeholders to make it work."

The city's taxi bylaw prohibits unlicenced vehicles being used to offer rides for money in Guelph and the taxi industry has been extremely vocal about how Uber doesn't adhere to that bylaw.

But since Uber landed on the scene in Guelph last year there has only been a handful of charges laid against Uber drivers.

The Mayor went so far as to say that he would like to see Guelph as a pilot city for a company like Uber, "so that we can collect data on how we can move people around differently than just in the archaic, blinders-on type of public transit system that every municipality has.

"As we, as a city, start thinking about the shared economy, we need to start really, really thinking about how we can embrace it," the Mayor said.

He said Uber is part of a shared economy that municipalities need to find a way to work with for the better of the city.

While the law and safety remain paramount, he sees a role for a company like Uber, particularly when it comes to reducing the cost and dependency on transit.

"The taxpayers of Guelph subsidize public transit by almost 55 percent right now. That's several millions of dollars that we spend on transit," Guthrie said.

"There's a lot of opportunity here and yes, being safe and being fair are the cornerstones of any type of opportunities like this, but I come back to the fact that five years from now, what is going to be happening with the shared economy and how it's affecting cities. I think Guelph should be embracing it instead of turning a blind eye."

He said some municipalities are already seeing a decline in public transit as a result of Uber.

Better customer service and environmental benefits could all be part of what Uber brings to a city, he said.

"Front door pickup, front door drop off at better times when the consumer wants it and its really helping the environment because people are choosing not to keep their cars or have a second car," Guthrie said.

"Frankly, I would like Guelph to be one of those cities that embraces this type of technology and puts our stake in the ground and says 'we want to welcome these types of technologies here,' especially when it comes to when the technology can help the municipality and its citizens."