Uber in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

I'd be far more comfortable in something like Uber than I ever would be in a cab. The few experiences I've had in cabs have echoed the experiences of the last few posters; one on Chicago even tried to get me to pay double. I read his chart on the car and confronted him on it, and he backed down and said "oh, the rules must have just changed."

[notmyfriends]

I've traveled for business a lot, among other trips; must have taken hundreds of cabs in my life. I can think of 2 negative experiences ever.

[DHLawrence]

One time in Mississauga I took a cab to the bus station. Closer to my arrival I mentioned I was paying by debit (I didn't have enough for a tip). He grumbled that I should have told him sooner. His tip shrank dramatically.

[plam]

I've traveled for business a lot, among other trips; must have taken hundreds of cabs in my life.  I can think of 2 negative experiences ever.

Usually cabs are OK. The bad experiences stick with you. For instance, the most recent time I went to YYZ by cab was great. The time before that was definitely sketchy. The guy had a lot of trouble operating the credit card machine and asked if I minded if he smoked.

[tomh009]

I've traveled for business a lot, among other trips; must have taken hundreds of cabs in my life.  I can think of 2 negative experiences ever.

Setting prices aside, I don't have any particularly pleasant experiences with cabs in North America (and, yes, I have taken hundreds, too).  Regardless of the city, the cabs are generally run down and cramped, and often poorly maintained, with worn-out shock absorbers and such.  No real receipts in most cases.  Getting one is often a hassle.  I can certainly see the opportunity for a provider such as Uber (legalities aside).

It's a different story elsewhere.  London cabs are roomy, well maintained even when old, and the cabbies are superbly knowledgeable.  In Germany the cabs are usually Mercedes (in the distinctive cream colour ...) and drivers again very well trained.  In Japan, the drivers wear white gloves and the cabs are impeccably clean. 

But North America ... taking a taxi is generally not a pleasant experience, even if nothing particularly horrible happens.

[numberguy]

One can also get an account with a local cab company, receipts are itemized pretty well then. And payments can be done after the ride, by any payment method.

YMMV, cabs can be great or horrible. With Uber, that may be the same (my sample pool is much smaller so far).

I would like some transparency about Uber's insurance and screening practices. It would be interesting to see a comparison versus local cab companies.

[ookpik]

The taxi industry takes its gloves off. Waterloo Region taxi drivers fired after working for Uber 

At least eight Waterloo Region taxi drivers have been fired after their employers learned they had been moonlighting for Uber, the CBC has learned. 

The drivers worked as independent contractors for various cab companies in the region. All had agreed to work exclusively for those individual companies, says Brian Mann of the Waterloo Region Taxi Alliance. 

"The drivers in question were using their personal cars to carry [Uber] passengers," said Mann.  "And that's a direct conflict of interest."

"They are sponsored by each individual company to drive for that particular company, only. That is how they obtain their taxi licenses, and that is how the system is set up currently."

News for Mr Mann:
1. You can't be an "independent" contractor and be bound to work for a single company.
2. Working for Uber, which isn't a taxi service, isn't a conflict of interest with working for a taxi company.
3. That the drivers were using their own cars rather than yours only serves to underscore 1. and 2. (If they'd been using your cars to provide Uber service then that would be a conflict and you would have a strong case.)
4. They're driving for Uber, not you. Their taxi license is irrelevant, as is your company's insurance coverage.

[Markster]

2. Working for Uber, which isn't a taxi service, isn't a conflict of interest with working for a taxi company.

I hate this little piece of the messaging battle, but Uber's been relatively successful at it.

Uber is not a "taxi", only insofar as the narrow legal definition within the existing regulatory environment defines one.
By any standard (e.g. dictionary) definition of a "taxi", Uber certainly is one. It has different hailing and payment mechanisms, but it's still an on-demand ride-for-hire hire service.

[ookpik]

I hate this little piece of the messaging battle, but Uber's been relatively successful at it.

Uber is not a "taxi", only insofar as the narrow legal definition within the existing regulatory environment defines one.

Point taken. I must admit that I too am a bit uncomfortable with this distinction. However if Uber didn't use such a distinction they'd never have gotten off the ground (or on the road) in the first place. Given society's natural conservatism when it comes to disruptive change I suppose this sort of tactic is understandable even if it's somewhat disingenuous.

[tomh009]

One can also get an account with a local cab company, receipts are itemized pretty well then.    And payments can be done after the ride, by any payment method.

That works if you only take cabs locally.  (I have my own car so all my cab rides are in other cities ...)

[Canard]

570 News was reporting today on the radio that there was a protest of about 100 cab drivers somewhere (didn't catch where). They kept shouting over and over how Uber was "Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars" - very dramatic, think of the children, that sort of thing.

[mpd618]

They kept shouting over and over how Uber was "Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars" - very dramatic, think of the children, that sort of thing.

They've got a lot more of that on their Twitter account.

[MacBerry]

Summer of Uber: Everything you need to know about the upstart ride-sharing service
 Interesting article in The National Post  August 21, 2015
Uber Facts and Info 2015
 Lots more info if you want information about Uber

[numberguy]

Waterloo Taxi is now on Gata. Leveraging an existing app seems wise, it minimizes their dev efforts.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...0229&hl=en
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/gata-hub...44911?mt=8

[BuildingScout]

I've heard of several bad experiences with Uber taking substantially longer for pick up than promised by the app. Has anyone else had this experience too?