Markham cabbies lost 80% of business to Uber: spokesperson

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 5, 2015
By Amanda Persico

Markham taxi operators are calling on the city to put an end to Uber, a ridesharing app, which they say is taking business away from local cabbies.

On behalf of the city’s taxicab drivers and brokers, Mansoor Iqbal, presented a petition with more than 60 signatures to a Markham committee.

Not only did the petition call on the city to put a stop to Uber operations in Markham, it also called for stronger bylaws and penalties for unlicensed cab drivers as well as a direct line to the city’s bylaw enforcement officers so illegal cabs can be immediately reported.

“We’ve lost about 80 per cent of business,” Iqbal said. “These are difficult times for taxi drivers. We are all struggling.”

Uber is changing the taxi waiting game. Gone are the days of hailing a cab.

Through the downloaded app, users can type in their location and destination, connect with a driver immediately and pay a flat-rate fare instead of an unknown metered fee in a taxicab.

“The taxi industry is such a mess,” Councillor Logan Kanapathi said. “I know you are struggling, but the industry is changing. This technology is here.”

It is the younger generation that is using Uber, he added.

“I don’t want my child to search down a taxi on a metropolitan street or wait an hour for a cab,” he said.

But emerging technology does not trump regulation or user safety, argued Mayor Frank Scarpitti.

“Just because I open an app and have a chicken dinner delivered to my house does not let the establishment off the hook to follow health regulations,” he said.

The situation is not unique to Markham.

According to its website, Uber Toronto territory expands to Burlington in the West, Oshawa in the east and Newmarket in the north.

Last month, both Toronto and Vaughan city councillors heard pleas from municipal cab drivers urging both cities to ban Uber.

Toronto voted in favour of regulating the digital taxi service, which would mean the California-based company would be required to apply as a municipal taxi and limo brokerage, pay annual license fees and connect users with local licensed cab drivers - a move Uber reportedly rejected.

Vaughan, on the other hand, decided to undertake a public education campaign outlining the taxi licensing program and taxicab requirements.

“The problem lies with the technology,” Councillor Don Hamilton said. “I don’t see how to stop this. You can put in all the bylaws you want, but how do you enforce it?”

Markham staff is to report back at the end of the month on how the province and other municipalities are dealing with Uber and how Uber fits under the Municipal Act, which governs how municipalities regulate taxis.