Lyft comes to Canada, sans-moustache

The ridesharing service Lyft, an Uber alternative, is coming to Toronto, building on its success in 300+ U.S. cities, providing 1 million rides a day.

"Lyft's marketing strategy, which is geared toward the young and technologically savvy, draws a relaxed and friendly demographic." Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times

As a brand, Lyft became known for the large pink furry moustaches drivers attached to the front of their cars. While memorable, the furry moustaches were eventually dropped, to overcome the resistance of some riders to arrive at destinations, such as business meetings, in a car with a giant moustache.

The replacement was nicknamed the "Glowstache" (a small, glowing plastic dashboard moustache). The latest Lyft iteration is a new color-changing dashboard indicator called "Amp."

Lyft is designed to encourage interaction between riders and drivers. When launched, Lyft riders were encouraged to sit in the front seat and fist bump with drivers upon meeting.

"You feel like you're in the car with a friend, and that's no mistake... Whether it's bringing someone a sandwich for the ride or letting them choose the music in the car, Lyft drivers have their own budding community growing." Drew Olanoff, TechCrunch

Music preferences are just one of the personal details that both passengers and drivers are encouraged to add to their profiles, facilitating conversation.

"Lyft is a real community—with both the drivers and riders being inherently social—making real friendships and saving money." Scott Weiss, Andreessen Horowitz (venture capital investor)

How it works:

• Riders must download the Lyft mobile app to their iOS or Android-based phone, sign up, enter a valid phone number, and enter a valid form of payment (either a credit card, or link to an Apple Pay, Google Wallet or PayPal account).
• Passengers can then request a ride from a nearby driver.
• Once confirmed, the app shows the driver's name, ratings by past passengers, and photos of the driver and car.
• At the end of the ride, the passenger is given the opportunity to provide a gratuity to the driver, billed to the rider's payment method.
• After a ride is completed, drivers and passengers are given the opportunity to rate each other on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Any driver averaging a low rating by users is dropped from the service. Lyft does not allow passengers to know their rating.

The 5 year old transportation network company is based in San Francisco, California. Canada is Lyft's first international operation.

Related content
Lyft Launches Toronto Expansion on Tuesday - CTV
CITY Q&A: Timothy Houghton, head of Lyft Toronto, on what it’s like to take on Uber - Toronto Life
Lyft Launches in Toronto with SickKids Donation - Betakit
Lyft plans to operate more than 100 vehicles in Hamilton - CBC
Lyft is Coming to Canada - Huffington Post

More from IHateTaxis
Is Uber Doomed?
The Uber Tip Dilemma
Uber Provides the Taxi Industry a Good Kick in the Pants
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is Attempting to Curb Consumer Choice
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: Your Uber Boogie Man Doesn't Scare Me
Taxi Truths Campaign Puts Lipstick on a Pig

Up, up and away with Uber in China

Now you can call Uber to take a balloon ride over Shanghai

Uber in China is breaking any moulds it has created for itself elsewhere. Now 60 cities strong, Uber is stepping things up to compete with its biggest rival, Didi Chuxing.

Since being blocked from China's popular WeChat (an even bigger deal than Facebook here in the West), Uber has had to get creative. As "all in one" apps are how the market works in China, Uber has responded by reinventing its ride-hailing app to be so much more, including:

• UberLIFE - connecting users to nearby sporting and entertainment
• Uber + Travel - unique destination-specific transportation options
• UberPASS - multi-city ride pass
• Uber Boat - the next generation of boat-hailing (already in Istanbul)
• Uber Balloon - yup, you guessed it, hot air balloon rides!

This isn't the first time Uber has gotten creative (think the Uber service for helicopters in New York City). We doubt it will be the last.


Related resources
You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now</> - Time
Uber positions its China app as more than a ride-hailing service - TechCrunch
Hey Uber, Welcome To China - TechCrunch
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants - IHateTaxis
Shanghai Pudong International Airport Airport (PVG) transportation guide
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport Airport (SHA) transportation guide
Get cooking on your layover: Asia

Uber Earth

creative commons image todpetkov on Flickr

Motherboard is running a whole week of posts on Uber, and the scope is pretty interesting. The week isn't over yet, but here are our picks so far:

• This Guy Quit His Engineer Job to Run a Blog All About Uber
• How Uber Is Changing Drug Dealing
• Get-Rich-on-Uber Ebooks Capture Drivers’ Hope and Desperation
• Uber Rape Case Leaves No Safe Transit Option for Women in Mexico City
• Uber's Conscientious Objectors

To view the full list of articles, and catch those still to come, check out Uber Earth.

Related resources
The Uber tip dilemma - IHateTaxis
Why we shelved Uber updates - IHateTaxis
Uber's year of unexpected partnerships - IHateTaxis
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants - IHateTaxis

Why we shelved Uber updates

Did you know that there's a beer called Hacker?

An interesting thing happened on the way to this month's Uber news update post: Blogger got hacked.  Better said, Blogger posts about Uber got hacked. Something like that.

As there are a lot of Uber stories in the news each month, so about 6 months ago we gave up trying to stay on top of developments (not really our focus anyways), and switched to a monthly summary of the previous month's most notable news, posted on the 1st or 2nd of the month.

About a week ago, I began building the Uber news recap - March 2016, collecting stories, buiding links, and so on.

In the process, I was intrigued to learn the news about Uber's challenge to hackers, offering rich rewards to find bugs and issues in their software. Brilliant, I thought.

As I was gathering links on the best coverage of the initiative, I was dumbfounded to learn that Uber had backtracked, rolling back the amount of the rewards. Whaaatt?!? This was after the programming community had already started to work on the issues, racing each other to compete for the prize(s). Really, Uber? Are you really that stupid? Even I, a relatively non-techie observer on the sidelines was able to put 2 and 2 together: if you are a technology company, who are the last people you want to piss off? Hackers. And how could you make it worse? Draw your flaws to the attention of the hacker community, wave dollars in front of their eyes, then snap the purse shut. SNAP! I picture an alligator's jaws open wide, luring it's prey in, then snapping shut in a flash!

Stupid, stupid, STUPID!

All this while Uber is bleeding millions (or is it billions?) in Asia, chasing a market that's so far eluding it. Maybe Uber's resources would be better spent getting its house in order, maybe it should have honoured its offer to the hackers (jeez, ya think?!?!?).

So, it was with amusement last week that I discovered that my March Uber news recap - once written, with links to stories all about the lure and the misstep - wouldn't save properly. I got an error message, and my post preview looked weird. When I looked at the HTML for the post, I could clearly see it had been hacked. Or maybe there was a virus on Blogger designed to attack posts about Uber, or maybe this story. Whatever it was, the code was a huge, unfixable mess, with links garbled wherever Uber was mentioned. "Ah, and so it begins," I thought.

Hacking a blog website to mess up stories is, I'm sure, child's play to a hacker. But it sure makes me wonder what will, or could, come next for Uber, as it has made itself so vulnerable to its newly created enemies.

Editor: In the end, we decided that our news recaps weren't adding much value, so just decided to drop them, and devote our blogspace to other things, but thought we'd share our thinking, our experince and predictions. And, we're posting this story, sans links, to hopefully be less likely to be hacked.

Uber news recap - February 2016

Hot commodities on eBay

Now here's good news:

• DUIs down; impaired millennials taking Uber, Lyft
• Uber and Lyft Sign Official Agreements with CLT Airport

Who knew?

• People are paying big bucks for Uber decals and Lyft mustaches on eBay
• Uber passenger falls asleep in car, racks up $171 bill (Video)
• Goldman Sachs Employees Uber to Work More Than Anyone Else

Headlines and analysis

• Can grandma learn to use Uber?
• What Uber strategist David Plouffe wants you to know about ridesharing
• Why Clayton Christensen Is Wrong About Uber And Disruptive Innovation
• Can we build a humane alternative to Uber?
• Sears CEO cites Uber, Amazon in explaining Q4 loss

Uber in Canada

• Uber drivers, supporters march on Alberta's legislature demanding changes
• Vancouver's Board of Trade pushes for Uber
• More Toronto residents riding Uber: Poll
• Erb and Erb now offers insurance coverage for Uber drivers

Global news

• Uber launches its first motorcycle service: UberMOTO will begin as a pilot program in Bangkok
• Is Uber in Pakistan risky or convenient?
• Estonia Embraces Uber and Taxify As First European Country To Legalize And Regulate Ride-Sharing
• China’s Didi Kuaidi Is Raising $1 Billion More To Battle Uber
• Has Uber Finally Met its Match? It’s a race to the bottom for Uber and its biggest Chinese rival
• UberEATS, Uber's home delivery service, is coming to Australia
• Uber's in India to learn how to rule the rest of the world

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Uber news recap - January 2016

A California carsharing driver sports Lyft, Sidecar and Uber identities

Here are a few ridesharing news highlights that started our year:

Lyft is lifting

• Lyft defies predictions by continuing to grow as a rival to Uber
• Lyft Raises $1 Billion, Adds GM as Investor and Partner For Driverless Cars

Sidecar is side-lined

• Sidecar: ‘We failed because Uber is willing to win at any cost’
• GM buys Uber rival Sidecar, which shut down in December

Uber headlines and analysis

• Customers complain as Uber prices surge near 10X on New Years Eve
• BusinessUber and Lyft Are Still Trying to Avoid Acting Like Regular Employers

Uber in the sky

• Uber grounds helicopter flights around Sundance Film Festival
• Uber will keep running helicopter flights at the Sundance Film Festival despite orders to stop
• Uber and Airbus are working together on a new trial helicopter service

Global Uber news

• French taxi drivers shut down Paris as protests over Uber turn violent
• Uber LAX pickup service gets green light
• Taxis block traffic in Budapest, demanding a ban on Uber
• Uber Settles Investigation Into Creepy 'God View' Tracking Program

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Uber news recap - December 2015

Behind the wheel with Uber in Bogota

A few highlights from the world of Uber news in December:

Worried it will be hard to identify the Uber car picking you up? What if others are waiting for Uber cars too? It turns out there's now an app for that: the new Uber SPOT:

• Uber gives drivers color-coded windshield LEDs to help riders find the right vehicle - GeekWire

Criticism of Uber's surge pricing (aka 'dynamic pricing') hit a new low (or is that high?) with the story of a former happy Uber customer's experience visiting Grand Rapids. Unable to get a taxi after a game with his buddies, the Uber advocate boasted how fast and affordable the service was. After a car quickly arrived, he asked what the fare would be, and the driver said he didn't know. He got quite a shock after the relatively short drive.

• Uber customer gets handed $490 bill for an 18-mile ride - AOL

Toronto taxi drivers still don't get it. Just a week after the Canadian Competition Bureau called for a level playing field in the taxi vs Uber debate, Toronto taxi drivers staged a hunger strike. Then they went onto mass strike actions that only caused Torontonians and visitors alike crave the alternative.

• Toronto taxi drivers stage hunger strike to protest Uber - blogTO
• Uber can’t be defeated from the outside—but maybe from within - Macleans

What if you want to drive for Uber, but don't have a car? The answer just got easier, if you live in Denver:

• Uber is offering cheap rental cars to its Denver drivers - The Verge
• Whose Insurance is it Anyway? Enterprise Offering Rentals To Uber Drivers in Denver - The Truth About Cars

Of course, a little ridesharing seasonal cheer:

• Uber’s Latest Stunt Is On-Demand Christmas Spirit - Money

And on the global stage:

• Angry French Uber drivers have created their own Uber - The Verge
• Uber seems to be getting its butt kicked in China - Forbes
• As Tiger Global Plays Both Sides In Uber War, Other Investors Are 'Furious' - Forbes

Other headlines:

• You can now call an Uber in Messenger, Facebook's window to the world - Wired
• ‘Uber is part of the transportation cocktail’: Jean-Nicolas Guillemette - Financial Post
• U.S. states pass laws backing Uber's view of drivers as contractors - Reuter's
• Former Obama aide, now Uber adviser, says drivers don’t need union - Seattle Times
• Uber is accused of failing a huge number of New Yorkers - Business Insider
• Uber driver recounts nearly 3 hours spent driving shooting suspects - AJC Atlanta
• Uber Snags Another Google Mapping Exec to Lead the Product Team - Re/code

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig 
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Uber vs taxi: news update

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have been covering the emergence of how ridesharing companies (such as Uber, Lyft, Sidecar) are shaking up taxi drivers and the regulators who govern them. While important, we don't want the Uber vs taxi story to overtake our blog, so we are bringing you broader news updates instead.

creative commons image, joakimformo on Flickr

Here's a recap of recent ridesharing stories that are worth reading:

Hard-Charging Uber Tries Olive Branch - NY Times

Uber stands by drivers as Montreal seizes Uber cars - Mashable

Google vs. Uber: The Future of Ride Sharing - Bloomberg

Don't overload Uber, Lyft with new regulations

Vancouver fleshing out new taxi code: council at odds on how to regulate firms like Uber

Geico launches insurance product for Uber drivers

UberXL to carry larger groups in SUVs or minivans

Uber now complies with India’s two-factor authentication requirement, calls it unnecessary and burdensome

Uber Will Add Panic Button And Location/Journey Sharing In India On February 11

The Sleeping Giant: Uber’s Expansion into Greater China

Uber announces kitten delivery service in Australia, cat lovers go wild

Put to the test: Taxi v Uber

Almost 10,000 People Have Signed This Uber Driver's Petition to Add Tips to the App

Related resources
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Security issues threaten to define Uber in India

Security issues threaten to define Uber in India

Will real and perceived security issues define Uber in India?
creative commons image by scrolleditorial on flickr

by Todd Romaine

Shiv Kumar Yadav, a Uber taxi driver from India accused of raping a passenger this past week, had a history of this same charge three years ago but was acquitted. Whether or not this man is guilty or not, Uber has now been banned in India as a result of its lack of proper security protocol.

More broadly, however, there are numerous actors lobbying governments to shut Uber down and rely on the existing licensed operators versus the more convenient taxi booking app that allows more availability and reduced fares for commuters. They are undoubtedly using this recent example as a broad stroke risk for allowing Uber market entry, even though they are numerous rape cases involving licensed traditional taxis which never warrant calls to shut down the entire taxi service for not properly vetting proper employees.

Truth be told, in most parts of the world, taxi operators are not the most ethical, law abiding and moral individuals. Many have spent time in jail or have had issues with the police. The profession, to many, is a last resort or a recurring opportunity to swindle people.

Obviously, there is natural sensitivity in India over the maltreatment of women and, as such, if Uber is creating unfavourable conditions for these events to continuously unfold, then their tenure in India will be short lived.

Uber was quick to defend itself as being responsible and that perhaps the issue has more to do with India’s lack of background checks in the commercial transportation licensing program. Needless to say, a new entrant that can seemingly skirt regulation (licensing), as well as impact existing monopolies, will face an uphill battle.

Ironically, it is the lack of regulation in the internet sector that will make it difficult for the Government of India to prevent people from using their smartphone to hailing a taxi through Uber. 

While this situation is most unfortunate, and lobby groups will attempt to maximize the fear as a mechanism to push out competition, Uber et al. will continue to make their advance on a growing market trend that is having major seismic impacts on how we hail a taxi. The Government of India should continue with reforms to ensure women are able to enjoy a safe existence in all aspects of life, but throwing Uber under the proverbial bus for one unfortunate incident would be regrettable.

Related Resources
Delhi to ban all internet taxi firms after Uber rape claim
In defense of Uber in India - Fortune
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

New Cab Share app is a mixed review!

Cab sharing = BFFL?
Image: richpompetti on flickr, creativecommons

by Todd Romaine

In the brave new taxi world of Uber, others are also creating innovations that link smart phone technology, the internet, and attempted cost savings to the consumer. For a few Canadian student inventors, their cabshare app (cabshareanada.ca, @cabsharecanada) is an attempt to link consumers into one taxi versus two by creating a social platform to connect passengers heading out in the same direction. And in theory, it makes total sense to cut down on fares but one wonders the actual practicality of it in real time. While it makes sense at an airport or train station to link up with another passenger to travel in the same direction, it is less likely to happen outside of major transportation nodes. And even if it does work, you would need to figure out who is paying what amount and by what means. It is highly improbable both random travelers are going to the exact address and, of course, whether or not a taxi driver will accept payments in half cash, half credit.

In other words, the bartering process could continue throughout your journey with both the other passenger and the driver. Also, all too often, taxi drivers are onto this perceived scheme and will attempt to double charge the fare and treat individuals seperately.

Also for those anti-social types, whom prefer to be using your smartphone for the whole ride to the airport or elsewhere you now are somewhat obligated to engage in idle chit chat with your new found friend. The same individual that may be creeping your Facebook profile later on and assuming a friendship exists because of awkward chat in a taxi?

All in all, is it really worth it? For some people, it will be, but for individuals like myself I would prefer avoiding the unnecessary complexities of a routine task of getting from A to B. The cost of privacy and a silent ride without potential haggling with the person next to you is worth the extra few dollars in my perspective.

Related resources
New Vancouver app provides alternative to Uber
Free Taxi Vancouver - one guy in a chicken suit
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Free Taxi Vancouver - one guy in a chicken suit

Yesterday, a new service, Free Taxi Vancouver, began offering, yes, free taxi rides in Vancouver.

Kyle MacDonald kicked off the campaign on Reddit:
I'm giving out FREE taxi rides tonight in Vancouver to raise awareness of taxi industry reform.

Reportedly wearing a chicken costume, and tweeting his location via @YesFreeTaxi, Kevin even scored a CTV interview, coverage on CBC radio, and more. Kyle has since updated his Reddit post with stories about the people he helped.

Kyle MacDonald is known to think out of the box: he's the Canadian famously known as the "Red Paper Clip guy" (http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.ca). In this latest venture, Kyle is seeking to raise awareness about Canadian taxi regulations and the need or reform.

The free rides for a night is a repeat of a similar stunt back in June, when @YesFreeTaxi first offered its first free rides for a night.


Related resources
Assessing and Reforming Vancouver's Taxi Regulations (Bob Proctor, 2009)
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig

Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me

by Todd Romaine

 If you want to see the war on Uber in Canada, check out this recently compiled website that hopes to dispel the 'sensationalist' claims by Uber that it will offer consumers more affordable choices when it comes to ground transportation: http://taxitruths.ca/

A quick review of the website reveals an amateur approach to marketing, with disjointed arguments about the case against an alternative provider, mixed in with irrelevant facts about taxis in Canada. 

You see, the taxi monopoly in Canada has never had to market their services to consumers per se, but rather spends their time working on politicians to limit new entries to market and increase fares. They have been waging a war on consumers for years to force you to pay more and wait more. If you can control the supply side of things, you can manipulate the demand favourably. This is one taxi truth they don't want you to know about, but rather are creating the Uber Boogie Man to scare off consumers to the notion of "choice" which would increase supply, draw down demand, and reduce overall costs for the traveler.

Under their page of "The Truth", the Canadian Taxi Monopoly indirectly paints future Uber drivers as insecure and the service of limited value. In other words, you will be uninsured and be driven by some amateur driver versus a seasoned, professional taxi operator. That somehow driving a motor vehicle is a specialized skill set now that should disqualify people like you and I from entry into this exclusive market. And despite Uber's legitimate claim of insurance coverage exceeding that of the taxi industry, the Canadian Taxi Monopoly continues to spread untruths about coverage because ultimately their arguments are that weak.

Furthermore, as a final desperate plea for you to discard new entrants into the marketplace, the Canadian Taxi Monopoly is appealing to the consumers' moral compass to suddenly link Uber's entry as negative in the form of job losses and earning a decent wage. In other words, we are being told monopolies are good because they artificially keep some people in business.

The most hilarious part of this whole debacle is that somehow the Canadian Taxi Monopoly think that consumers will actually go to this website and become ardent supporters of theirs in this "selfless campaign". For too long the Canadian Taxi Monopoly has disregarded the consumer when it comes to professionalism, not hiring fluent and polite drivers and essentially cutting costs while lobbying for rising prices. Now they want us to get "educated" so that we can have more of the same!

No thanks.

I want choice and cheaper fares please.


Related resources
New website features 'Taxi Truths' and takes aim at Uber
UberX: Innovation or Anarchy? A Look at the Pros and Cons of Montreal’s New Ridesharing App
Stop Those Who Would Stop Uber
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig

'Taxi Truths' letter to Canadians kicks off national campaign
Image by @MickCoulas

In the latest move of desperation, Canada's biggest taxi companies have banded together to launch national advertising and a new website.

They're calling it a conversation with Canadians, but it's a one-way campaign built on fear mongering anti-Uber campaigns to date in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

The new website, Taxi Truths, touts the benefits of taking a licensed taxi, With a groovy website design (it's actually rather clever), and even implying it has own app, Taxi Truths is trying to show it is "with it", but it's clearly lipstick on a pig.

Armed with data and arguments on the side of safety, security and accessibility (the claim on value will be disputed), the Canadian Taxicab Operators fail to grasp the role sharing has on the psyche of Canadians on the move, in the time of the exploding sharing economy.

Will it work? Only time will tell, but we are clearly in the side if the skeptics.

The Canadian Taxicab Companies group lists its members in Calgary (Checker Group, Associated Cab Company), Edmonton (Taxi Service Group), Montreal (Taxi Diamond), Ottawa (Coventry Connections), Toronto (Royal Taxi) and Vancouver (MacLure’s Cabs, Vancouver Taxi, Yellow Cab, Black Top & Checker Cabs). Perhaps fearing it's next to hit Uber's radar, the site also lists Winnipeg (UniCity Taxi, Duffy’s Taxi) is also listed on the site.

Related resources
Taxi companies start national anti-Uber campaign
New website features 'Taxi Truths' and takes aim at Uber
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice

Anti-Uber taxi protest chaos in London in June - is Vancouver next?
Creative Commons image by zongo on Flickr

by Todd Romaine

Desperate last straw efforts to save an archaic monopoly will be hitting Canadian airwaves in the coming days as the Canadian Taxicab Association (@CTA_Taxi) tries to argue that taking an “unregulated vehicle” is the same thing as having some stranger with no flying experience operate your flight.

Yes, this is how silly it is getting to try to convince consumers to stay with a system that profits handsomely by ensuring an undersupply of taxis and causing endless frustrations in commuters. The idea of introducing more drivers on the road whom will charge less money than the traditional monopolistic rates has this industry running scared that competition will mean less fares and more accountability to customer service.

In Uber’s defense, they do background checks on the drivers and look after insurance. Whether a taxi driver is better than a regular driver is highly subjective however.

To compare driving a motor vehicle to that of flying a sophiscated flying machine is just plain silly and is insulting to commuters that want to reduce their waiting time and the ensuing bill for their commute.

In Vancouver, a 6 month moratorium was placed on the issuance of more taxi licenses which thereby prohibits Uber from entering the market.

In addition, Vancouver cab companies have gone as far as to launch a lawsuit against Uber, even before they have actually started business in the city. Politicians have thus far weighed in on the side of the traditional taxi operators, but there is little doubt that the free market and providing consumers with greater choice will sweep over the old age era of convenient protectionism for those maintaining an arguably corrupt fiefdom that deliberately limits competition despite overwhelming evidence of increasing demand.

As a mechanism to bolster growing support in Vancouver, Uber launched a job fair for new drivers and has created an online petition (over 6,000 signatures to date) to be circulated to the City of Vancouver requesting entrance to address an arguably growing business need.

For the taxi monopoly, the age old tricks of lawsuits and intimidation will eventually backfire so its high time they accept Uber as a legitimate competitor and begin to enhance customer service and reduce fares if they wish to stay in business over the long term.

Related resources:
UberX targeted by cab companies with ad campaign over safety
Uber launches online petition to raise public support for Vancouver service
Uber block: Vancouver taxi companies seek injunction against ride-share service
Uber Vancouver to get undercover government checks to enforce taxi regulations
Cities must crack down on the scourge of convenient, efficient taxi service
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants

by Todd Romaine

Striking London taxi drivers this morning.
The result? Uber sign-ups up 850%.
Image: @simonjackson80

Ask any seasoned traveler around the world and you will find few fans of the taxi industry and, more specifically, experiences with taxi drivers. Despite hundreds of personalized experiences, we tend to only recall the handful of bad ones and categorically declare disdain on any entire industry and a population of drivers. Throughout my global travels, it would seem that many taxi drivers from all parts of the globe share many of the same undesirable traits of trying to rip me off in variety of different ways. Arguably this is done most commonly in the developing world but we have all had experiences in the West dealing with our shady types here. It would seem, up until very recently, that we are permanently stuck with the taxi industry and its shenanigans.

Uber and various smaller replications may at the very least challenge in the medium term taxi operators and drivers to clean up their act. If travelers will continue to be loyal to the traditional taxi industry monopoly then their experience better be pleasurable and incorporate high tech apps, GPS feeds on the viewer screen and overall enhanced customer service. This will mean attracting drivers that are more conversant in the official languages and will likely mean that the taxi industry will need to pay increased wages and reduce the operator fees in order to be competitive. At the very least, all taxi companies will need to have an online app and be prepared to accept credit cards under all circumstances to compete. Despite protests in Europe and North America from the taxi industry on the issue of 'fairness' and lost fares from increased competition, it is unlikely Uber will go away but rather intensify globally.

The demand from younger travelers on increasing the pool of available drivers for a quicker pick-up, booking online and paying by credit card is a good thing for the travel industry. Maybe its time for taxi drivers themselves to adapt to the new trend, utilize their own car for transporting passengers and throw off the servitude shackles of the taxi industry once and for all. Let us hope that the replacement of the taxi industry with Uber does not create another type of monopoly that encourages long-term lethargy and indifference to customer loyalty and acquisition. And the most promising development on this fearful trend is the development of a driverless car, the idea being actively pursued by a Google/Uber partnership. The belief is that with rapidly evolving technology that cars should be able to safely navigate themselves and without the cost of a driver, the price for transportation should plummet so low to discard the idea of private ownership altogether which will mean less congestion and significantly reduced environmental externalities.

But, of course, Ihatetaxis.com would support any initiative that enhances your travel experience in a positive manner and ends the taxi monopoly!

Related resources:

• Uber sees 850% jump in new sign-ups as cabs strike
• Taxis blockade European cities in Uber strike
• Car sharing service provides vehicles for Uber drivers
• Lyft partners with Moovit as car sharing battle continues

Plus, in case you missed it; Do we really hate taxis? The story behind our name.