[Kjesse]

Trying to turn this into an issue of race is a very lowbrow tactic.

In fact, some taxi drivers do smell, some awfully so, one time I actually felt sick. In Calgary the overwhelming majority of taxi drivers are ethnic, but to then say because some of them smell (as do some of the non-ethnic taxi drivers), that means the customers are racist, is trying to hijack the problem and make the complainers feel guilty based on an allegation of racism.

The issue is: Taxi service in Calgary has been awful for over a decade. The main cause? Restriction of supply due to the taxi commission continually listening to the owners of the plates, who have turned that restriction into a massive profit center, making in some cases over $150,000 per plate, some even north of $200K per plate. The restricted supply has brought down the need to compete by, for example, reducing the need to be clean.

Now the taxi commission (and the City) are protecting the fools who paid those prices for the plates by playing hardball with Uber, likely because they know they share blame in the prices of those plates reaching the levels they did.

The legal arguments about Uber are pretty flimsy, though the insurance cost needs to be sorted out. Personally, understanding the provisions of the Insurance Act and the implications for riders in other people's cars in Alberta, as a passenger I am not taking a risk. I would agree a driver for Uber is however. For drivers, that will be sorted out over time and they are currently relying on untested promises from Uber.

I have stories of missed flights, being stranded for many hours, and the like over the years before Uber and have complained to the taxi commission and to my alderman, in writing. I get non-responsive replies that are useless. I think Richard Pootmans in particular is being an ass on this issue. His office will not even say where he stands on the issue, and I've tried for responses a few times but won't waste my time with him any more.

I don't need taxis often but this weekend got to try out Uber, and it was great -- fast and reliable. The driver was ethnic, had an accent, clean and smell free, he and the car. Good conversationalist also. I tipped him well.