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But I think all cab companies do have at least one van with the modified ramp. I see them driving around. If you call in, presumably you'd say "I need the accessable vehicle" and they send the van.
On uber, you can pick your driver/car, but that assumes at least one person in the region who had a can with the ramp mods has signed up to be an uber driver.
That's impossible to enforce, if you're uber.
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(09-22-2016, 01:34 PM)Canard Wrote: But I think all cab companies do have at least one van with the modified ramp. I see them driving around. If you call in, presumably you'd say "I need the accessable vehicle" and they send the van.
On uber, you can pick your driver/car, but that assumes at least one person in the region who had a can with the ramp mods has signed up to be an uber driver.
That's impossible to enforce, if you're uber.
Uber knows exactly what kind of cars its drivers have. If it's a requirement to operate in a region, there's nothing stopping Uber from offering incentives for people with accessible vans.
In Toronto, their accessible van tier is called UberWAV:
https://newsroom.uber.com/canada/uberacc...options-3/
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(09-22-2016, 01:10 PM)Canard Wrote: But uber as a company relies on "volunteers" - there's no way to guaretee that there will be at least one person who is driving a ramp-equipped megavan.
Well, the company may insist that its drivers aren't employees, but they're also not volunteers. I know what you're saying, though, and I don't know how the company would fulfill the requirement, but it's a good requirement. If you are a person with a disability, and you call a cab company or log into an app to request a vehicle, you should be able to expect to get a vehicle which will accommodate you.
We might be getting ahead of ourselves, though. I think the way that article was written was unclear. Who knows what the bylaw actually says.
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09-22-2016, 02:04 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-22-2016, 02:05 PM by Canard.)
(09-22-2016, 01:46 PM)Markster Wrote: Uber knows exactly what kind of cars its drivers have. If it's a requirement to operate in a region, there's nothing stopping Uber from offering incentives for people with accessible vans.
You're missing my point. I don't doubt that they do.
But what happens if nobody with an accessible van signs up?
They can't operate?
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(09-22-2016, 02:04 PM)Canard Wrote: But what happens if nobody with an accessible van signs up?
They can't operate?
That can't operate legally. Which is often a minor point to Uber.
But if they want to operate legally, I'm certain they could come up with an effective incentive to get at least one van signed up.
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It's like they'd have to buy one on their own, and guarantee it is in operation at all times.
Or sublet one from Waterloo Taxi or something.
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They might have to buy their own. The only thing stopping them would be their insistence that they are just a platform, and they don't actually themselves have anything to do with transportation.
I expect that Mark's right that they could come up with an incentive to get accessible vans on the service.
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The text of the bylaw is available here: http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/region...w-2016.pdf
From my reading of the text, the accessibility requirements apply to Meter Taxi-cab Brokers, not Auxiliary Taxi-cab (ride sharing) Services.
Quote:By January 1, 2017, every Meter Taxi-cab Broker licensed under this Bylaw
shall have a number of Accessible Taxi-cabs that are operated through
the Meter Taxi-cab Broker that is equivalent to or more than seven (7)
percent of the total number of Meter Taxi-cab Owner / Vehicle Licence
holders who operate through the Meter Taxi-cab Broker.
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(09-22-2016, 01:10 PM)Canard Wrote: But uber as a company relies on "volunteers" - there's no way to guaretee that there will be at least one person who is driving a ramp-equipped megavan.
Uber can probably find a way to comply with that. One way is to sign up accessible taxis into the Uber Taxi program and offer them at the same rate as UberX. I'm sure there are other options. And I'm also sure this is not the first time Uber up against this requirement.
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As per two posts above it's a non-issue
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Uber and other "auxiliary taxi" brokers will pay a fee that will go towards the Region providing/subsidizing accessible transportation of some kind. They will not be required to directly provide accessible service.
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In Estonia, Uber reports the drivers' incomes directly to the tax office. CRA should do the same ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-estoni...SKCN0YV1PS
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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.
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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.
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