TTC union head blasts mayor, premier for 'surrendering' to Uber

CP24.com
Dec. 15, 2015
By Codi Wilson

The president of the union representing TTC employees is slamming Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne for “shamelessly surrendering” to popular ride-hailing service Uber.

In a written statement sent out Tuesday, Bob Kinnear, president of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Workers, accused the two leaders of “wimping out” when it comes to standing up to Uber.

The comments came one day after Uber announced the launch of its new service UberHOP, which allows customers to share a ride with others on the city’s busiest routes during morning and evening rush hour for a $5 flat fee.

In Kinnear’s statement, however, he says his concern about UberHOP is not motivated by the potential loss of transit jobs, adding that Uber drivers will not make “a dent” in the 1.5-million daily ridership of the TTC.

His said his complaints centre around public safety and gridlock.

“All they will do it create congestion, chaos and conflict on Toronto streets, especially in the downtown core, where congestion is already intolerable,” Kinner said.

Speaking to CP24 Tuesday, Kinner said public safety should be top of mind for municipal and provincial leaders.

“I think it should be concerning to the public that we have unregulated people moving people throughout the city that may not have the insurance that they require to utilize their vehicle as a commercial vehicle,” he said.

“The bottom line is that we have bylaws, we have laws and regulations that all people are expected to meet and it is somewhat disappointing that the mayor of the city and even the premier for that matter have basically thrown their arms up and said, ‘Well, there is not much we can do.’”