Uber launches in Calgary, while city council plays catch-up

calgarysun.com
Oct. 15, 2015
By Rick Bell

Capitalism comes to call Thursday.

They’re here. Uber, that is.

And city council now has no choice but to deal with the elephant in the room...er...on the road.

Yes, Uber is up and running in Calgary.

First thing Thursday morning city bylaw folks roll out a rapid response.

Uber is unlawful, they say. They’re disappointed Uber hit the streets when they did.

In mid-November, city council will jaw over options of how to handle Uber and other outfits where people wanting a ride and willing to spend money use an app to connect to people wanting to drive and make money.

Until council decides where they’re going, Uber drivers could face fines up to $4,500.

The city will enforce the bylaw while sparing us the details of how they’ll pull that off.

The city says it isn’t confident of Uber’s standards. They say not knowing whether Uber is safe poses a risk to those using the service.

Mayor Nenshi sends out a statement advising Uber drivers not to drive and Uber riders not to ride until rules are in place.

Bylaw’s Marc Halat admits “poor performance by taxis has had an impact” on where we are today, with another option to taking a cab.

But Halat says the cab business has come a long way and now has a citizen satisfaction rating of 86%.

Still there is Uber, with 10,000 Calgarians opening the app last month and 500 drivers signed up off the get-go.

There are Calgarians wanting a chance to get around town faster and often cheaper.

Halat says cabbies “are going to be extremely angry.”

No kidding.

“They knew it was coming. We’ll do our best to represent them,” says Halat.

Somehow methinks that might not be assurance enough.

Halat tells us the city actually embraces the new technology but they have to be sure hanging out with the new kid on the block is safe.

Uber’s Xavier Van Chau says there is demand in Calgary for what they’re offering.

And the city moves oh-so-slowly.

They weren’t impressed it took 14 months to talk about changing limo rules opening the door for Uber’s premium limo service.

And then council kiboshed the deal.

Uber says any idea of regulating them like a taxi will kill their business but they do want to talk to the city right away about regulations they say work.

They are willing to address city concerns.

Van Chau also says ticketing doesn’t stop the growth of Uber.

Uber pays the tickets and they have gone to court.

They feel Calgary’s bylaw doesn’t apply to them and is more about discouraging rogue individuals from picking up others and charging for the ride.

Van Chau says they do background checks for drivers, annual vehicle inspections and driver record reviews.

Down at city hall, Coun. Joe Magliocca says Uber showed up in Calgary “like the bully on the block.”

But Coun. Evan Woolley says Uber is plugging into pent-up demand here.

“This is happening. The sheer demand from consumers reaches a breaking point where a company is willing to take the risk and citizens will back them up.”

Woolley says rules around drivers, vehicles and insurance coverage have to be ironed out with Uber.

“Then it should be supply and demand. Let the market reign supreme.”

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says she wants the city to come up with some regulation for companies like Uber and then leave it to the public.

“We’re in an era where it’s all about the consumers and the consumer will make that choice.”

Colley-Urquhart figures the cab companies will improve their dispatch systems in a very big way because of the appearance of Uber and likely others.

The councillor also feels for the cab drivers.

The slow economy and Uber’s appearance is a “double whammy.”

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” she says.

But she can read the writing on the wall.

“The inevitable is here.”