Uber in Waterloo Region

[ookpik]

This is rather disturbing, both that it happened when there was a shooting but also that it happens so frequently that it's the third most common formal complaint about taxis.

 Rejected fares a major complaint for taxi passengers 

Navarro-Fenoy’s friend Franca Abate said several cabbies idling along Dufferin St. refused to take them and a third friend on what would have been a short ride, leaving them stranded. According to Abate, they were told their fare to the Bathurst and Lake Shore area, about $8, was too low. Moments later, 26-year-old Navarro-Fenoy was gunned down.


Nneka MacGregor, executive director of the local non-profit group Women at the Centre, said the fare claim is “disconcerting on so many levels.”

“Refusing to do your job and not realizing the far reaching consequence — a vulnerable young woman at night — that is what really is so appalling,” she said. “I’m really shaken because I have two daughters who go out and take taxis.

“How are my kids going to be safe when a taxi driver would rather sit and wait for another fare than take them home?”

Would this be less of an issue with Uber?  On one hand Uber drivers know up front how much they're going to make from a ride and are assured of getting paid. On the other hand, by simply not responding to "short" rides it's easier for them to refuse them without consequence.
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On another tack, drivers licenses indicate a driver's license class. You need  special classes to drive specialty vehicles like trucks, buses and school buses. Ontario used to have a Chauffeur class for people who drove for compensation. Perhaps we need to (re)introduce a class for taxi/Uber type drivers. This would deal with the allegation that Uber drivers aren't as competent as taxi drivers.
Likewise, in Ontario you need a special endorsement on your car insurance in order to drive for compensation. But the standard "pink card" that shows that you have insurance coverage doesn't show any details of what sorts of coverage you have. Perhaps it should, especially with respect to this endorsement.
It seems to me that these two measures would go a long way in addressing concerns by the public (and the taxi industry) that Uber drivers are somehow less safe and/or underinsured.