Taxi Drivers Plan to Screw Toronto (NBA All Star/Family Day Weekend) in Uber Protest

[TeeJay]

https://nowtoronto.com/news/taxi-drivers-prepare-to-protest-again-february/

Toronto taxi drivers are gearing up for another protest against Uber that will shut down major roads downtown.

That the rally falls on one of the busiest weekends this month – on February 12 as the city prepares for Family Day long weekend and to host the NBA All-Star Game – is no coincidence. The only thing that could stop the planned protest is if city council decides to file an injunction against UberX at its meetings this week.

“If the protest does happen, it’ll basically be to show how incompetent the mayor is,” says Paul Sekhon, a general manager for City Taxi. “We’re hoping they’ll get the injunction this time and take some action.”

The taxi protest would be the second in nearly two months. On December 9, hundreds of GTA cab drivers rallied downtown, taking over the intersection of Queen and Bay and blocking traffic.

 

[twizz]

This is like when The Tamils blocked the road. Symphathy will not be in their favor

 

[fuji]

I hate to agree with twizz, but yes, a strike like this just gets people pissed off, and if you piss off enough people they will come and kick your ass.

The best analogy is when the garbage workers tried to hold the city hostage by letting garbage stink up the whole city. They thought they were smart. The result was Rob Ford getting elected on a promise to privatize garbage. If the taxi drivers really fuck the whole city over it will ultimately mean City Council bylaws that heavily favour Uber.

 

[twizz]

I'm going to the all-star game, and everyone like me has paid a hefty price for tickets. We will not be happy if we even miss O'Canada or any free giveaways at the beginning.

 

[whynot888]

I had a friend who use to drive a taxi for a living. Now he is a Uber driver and says he loves it more than a cab driver. Better pay better everything

 

[**Sophie**]

Why don't the cab companies settle this by sponsoring a race? Use the Toronto Indy track and have cabbies race against Uber drivers. Winner gets Toronto cab rights. They could call it the Hindi 500 lol. Uber is sure to win since they all drive BMW's...

But seriously, if the do protest they are only pissing customers and tourists off and putting even more money into Ubers pockets.

 

[Autumn-desilva]

How about taxi drivers and companies
1) Improve their customer service
2) make sure the drivers are clean ( hygiene!!!!) and the cabs
3) lower your rates clearly people don't think its worth the money or UBER would not exist
4) stop messing up everyone else's fun because your mad people found a better alternative. Improve your industry and stop complaining, and trying to get UBER out the city. Something else will come along, the people made their choice.
I took a cab on the weekend downtown, he was unpleasant to be honest. I remained polite, but for sure last time i'm getting in a cab. Straw that broke the camels back.

Do they think these protests will make people want to get in an overpriced cab with bad service?

 

[Yoga Face]

I had a friend who use to drive a taxi for a living. Now he is a Uber driver and says he loves it more than a cab driver. Better pay better everything

will not last


as more become UBER drivers rates go down as well as UBER competition moving in will lower rates then he will be working 70 hours per week with 0 benefits and below minimum wage and with car payments making him see nothing but red just like taxi drivers are now but UBER will be filthy rich

THOSE WHO CANNOT SEE TAXI DRIVERS POV ARE HYPOCRITES

IF TECHNOLOGY WIPED YOU OUT OVERNIGHT AFTER YOU SPENT A LIFETIME BUILDING YOU BUSINESS YOU WOULD BE SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE

 

[maurice93]

I'm going to the all-star game, and everyone like me has paid a hefty price for tickets. We will not be happy if we even miss O'Canada or any free giveaways at the beginning.

A little off topic...

It is your fault for paying lots of money for an all star game. All star games are meant to entertain 12 year olds.

 

[destillat]

IF TECHNOLOGY WIPED YOU OUT OVERNIGHT AFTER YOU SPENT A LIFETIME BUILDING YOU BUSINESS YOU WOULD BE SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE

Like the horse breeders when the automobile came along?
Evolve, or step aside.

 

[Yoga Face]

A little off topic...

It is your fault for paying lots of money for an all star game. All star games are meant to entertain 12 year olds.

and why is OK for professional sports to gouge by monopolization

if you cannot see the NBA, NHL etc are out of control greedy pig monopolies, as well as the unions that go on strike because they feel multi millionaire blue collar workers are underpaid , then you are as blind as the pathetic politicians who agree to build a new stadium on public dime so the team will come and gouge the fans at the gate then block local TV if the game is not sold out (NFL)

amazing and so very sad

 

[Butler1000]

will not last


as more become UBER drivers rates go down as well as UBER competition moving in will lower rates then he will be working 70 hours per week with 0 benefits and below minimum wage and with car payments making him see nothing but red just like taxi drivers are now but UBER will be filthy rich

THOSE WHO CANNOT SEE TAXI DRIVERS POV ARE HYPOCRITES

IF TECHNOLOGY WIPED YOU OUT OVERNIGHT AFTER YOU SPENT A LIFETIME BUILDING YOU BUSINESS YOU WOULD BE SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE

So said the buggy whip makers, ice deliverymen, blacksmiths in the past.

And now video stores, record store chains, Polaroid camera, et al.

The taxi industry is an artificial ogliarchy from a past era. Uber is challenging that with a new business model that works. So my sympathy is quite limited.

 

[niveamen]

Like the horse breeders when the automobile came along?
Evolve, or step aside.

Or the film developers when digital photography came along.

Or the milk delivery man when they invented fridges.

Or the film projectionist when they invented digital storage. etc. etc.

 

[Yoga Face]

Like the horse breeders when the automobile came along?
Evolve, or step aside.

I agree, but the little guys need help when their lives are destroyed through no fault of their own and they are being offered nothing but welfare, if that, because welfare would say go back to driving cab for less than minimum wage

 

[good to go]

Monopoly dies sooner or later. The drivers will all go to Uber and screw the license owners who deserve it

 

[Messiahson]

I had a friend who use to drive a taxi for a living. Now he is a Uber driver and says he loves it more than a cab driver. Better pay better everything

Good to hear someone is making money.

 

[verboselypithy]

As UBER takes over the world, do you reckon there will be FakeUBER any time soon? I'd love to see that.

 

[rgkv]

It will be interesting to see what happens the first time a passenger is severely hurt in an uber taxi...
"WHAT :Eek::Eek:...what do you mean your insurance will not cover me???"

 

[Messiahson]

It will be interesting to see what happens the first time a passenger is severely hurt in an uber taxi...
"WHAT :Eek::Eek:...what do you mean your insurance will not cover me???"

Oh good point...

 

[rhuarc29]

I had a friend who use to drive a taxi for a living. Now he is a Uber driver and says he loves it more than a cab driver. Better pay better everything

Your friend hasn't done the math. Rates are $0.80/km in Toronto. Uber takes 25%, so now you only get $0.60/km. Fuel, maintenance and wear and tear on your car is at least $0.30/km. That means you're taking home only $0.30/km. The scary part is that you don't get paid for the distance to go pick someone up, which can sometimes be a longer trip than the actual paid one! The only time it's worth it to drive for Uber is when surge pricing kicks in.

Uber is a great idea: it's flexible, it's dynamic, it's quality, and it's value. But I think they're totally taking advantage of their drivers and are relying on them remaining ignorant of the real take-home pay. I'm not sure why they've lowered rates so much; they're pretty much half the price of a cab. The only thing I can think of is that they have a long-term goal of convincing people they are better off not buying a vehicle, but instead using Uber for their driving needs.

We definitely need to regulate Uber to protect drivers and passengers.

1) Uber should be required to supply commercial insurance to their drivers (most Uber drivers are driving around without proper insurance to protect themselves since their personal insurance doesn't cover commercial use and Uber's insurance only covers passengers and third parties).
2) Minimum rates should be mandatory so that drivers can actually make a decent wage ($1.20/km would make it slightly above minimum wage).
3) Maximum rates should also be implemented to curb surge price gouging, but still make it effective at getting more drivers on the road (say 4x normal rate).

That said, we sure as hell don't need licensing like the taxi industry. And the point of regulations should definitely not be to protect the taxi industry; but to provide a reasonable alternative.