Uber in Waterloo Region

[tomh009]

Well you would think that a job like Uber might be seen like any other job, where the employer directly reports income to the government.

The drivers are independent contractors, not employees.  And in such cases there is normally no automatic reporting.

[tomh009]

Hopefully the Region is able to improve the number of accessible vehicles.  At the moment, there is a limited pool of accessible taxis that are often seconded to regular runs when there is no need for an accessible van.  From personal experience, and depending where the accessible taxis have been deployed for either an accessible run a regular run, this could mean double or triple the regular wait for a taxi.  Worst case was a wait for nearly an hour for an accessible taxi.

The challenge with the accessible taxis is that if there are too many, there are not enough accessible-specific rides for those drivers to keep busy, so they end up accepting regular customers.  I don't know what the best solution here is.

[KevinL]

Of course they need to take regular rides sometimes - they can't wait around all day for a customer that needs accessibility.

Ensuring that those are not too many rides so that they remain available otherwise is the big challenge.

[Viewfromthe42]

Well you would think that a job like Uber might be seen like any other job, where the employer directly reports income to the government.

The drivers are independent contractors, not employees.  And in such cases there is normally no automatic reporting.

They are independent contractors in the country previously mentioned where automatic reporting does occur, so that doesn't mean there can't or shouldn't be automatic reporting. Uber exclusively handles all money, in fact, and so is more responsible than the driver for accurate reporting of money paid, taxes, etc, further suggesting they should be bearing the responsibility.

[tomh009]

The drivers are independent contractors, not employees.  And in such cases there is normally no automatic reporting.

They are independent contractors in the country previously mentioned where automatic reporting does occur, so that doesn't mean there can't or shouldn't be automatic reporting. Uber exclusively handles all money, in fact, and so is more responsible than the driver for accurate reporting of money paid, taxes, etc, further suggesting they should be bearing the responsibility.

It's correct that there could be, and there really should be.

However, I don't believe CRA currently has any system capable of accepting such data.  If CRA did implement such a system, I do think it's likely that Uber would be willing to provide the data, based on the Estonian precedent.

[Canard]

Why is it a problem to use an accessible vehicle for a normal fare?

[nms]

Why is it a problem to use an accessible vehicle for a normal fare?

The challenge is that having an accessible taxi waiting for an accessible fare isn't fair to the driver who isn't earning income in the meantime.  So they take regular fares in between calls.  This means that the accessible taxi could be tied up for 20-30 minutes with a regular fare before it is back in the "for hire" pool. (eg drive a regular fare from downtown Kitchener to the Waterloo airport before being called back to Grand River Hospital to pick up an accessible fare).

Some cities, like London, UK have solved the problem by making all licensed taxis accessible. Doing so means that no matter what taxi shows up to pick up a fare, everyone can board.

[Spokes]

I've got a question for Uber users.  I went to book one this morning to take me to work and the map only showed two vehicles near me.  In your experience, could I have expected to get a driver fairly quickly with so few options?

I was nervous it would take a while to get there and would have got me to work late so I ended up just calling a cab which came right away, but would have rather used an Uber.

[Spokes]

Oh, I also was less than enthused that the cab was $10 more than the Uber. I didn't expect it to be THAT different.

[plam]

I've got a question for Uber users.  I went to book one this morning to take me to work and the map only showed two vehicles near me.  In your experience, could I have expected to get a driver fairly quickly with so few options?

I was nervous it would take a while to get there and would have got me to work late so I ended up just calling a cab which came right away, but would have rather used an Uber.

Historically there has been news coverage about the cars being fake, but I could only find one article dating from 2015 about that. Uber's ongoing lack of profitability is one of those big open questions. I kind of view it as a huge subsidy from Uber venture capital investors to the public.

[Spokes]

Hmmm...
I've had good luck when I've used it at night, but seeing only two vehicles at 7:20am worried me. Even more so now that you mention the idea of fake vehicles.

[taylortbb]

When Uber was new here I found I waited a while, but these days it's never more than 5 minutes. After you request a ride it'll match you with a driver and you'll get a precise estimate. If it's too long you can always cancel the ride. As long as you don't cancel too often, and do it before the driver has driven very far, they won't change for the cancellation.

[Section ThirtyOne]

As stated above, the app should generate a pickup ETA for you. If it is too long, just cancel the pickup.

I've also found that waiting more than 5 minutes anywhere near the core is rare.

[Spokes]

I've had good luck in the evenings when I've used it. My concern was the early morning. How many drivers are out and about?

[plam]

Might be an issue in many places. I've had longer-than-desired waits in residential neighbourhoods in Montreal for instance.