Quote:
Originally Posted by para transit fellow
That may work for some but not necessarily for others.
I don't have any long-term disability benefits at my employment. I would have to resort to Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and let the province (and your taxes) take care of me.
And... having met Calgary handibus passengers (now know as Calgary Transit access (tm)) that were hurt by un-identified drivers in hit and runs, I really wouldn't wish that fate on my worst enemy.
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Since I work in the auto accident industry
, here is a simple tip for all you guys - carry at least $2M (and I would urge $3-5M) of liability insurance. Why? SEF44 rider on your auto policy allows you to claim the amount in excess of the at-fault's insurance coverage from your own insurance IFF your policy limit > the at-fault's policy limit. In 99% of auto accidents everybody involved has the same $1M of coverage, so this does not arise. But for extra $30-60 a year it is well worth it in case your buddy does wrap the vehicle you are riding in around a pole and paralyzes you. Because even his $1M in coverage will not come anywhere close to paying the $3.5M or whatever your claim is worth and he likely does not have a $3M house you can tap. But if you have a $3M liability policy, you can tap into an extra $2M of coverage that you desperately need. This also serves as a sort of disability insurance, as, odds are, you are most likely to be disabled in an auto accident if you are a white-collar professional. Obviously, if you are in a high-risk job, different issues. Do this - it's very useful and very inexpensive.
To the topic at hand. In the end - it's a simple market issue: there are a certain number of people that need a ride and a certain number of people that would like to make money by driving others. The question is how to most efficiently connect the two. The taxi monopoly, at least as practiced in Calgary, is clearly not the way - too many people looking for a ride are either not served at all or not served well in order for the license holders to maintain the value of their licenses on the secondary market. Is the City corrupt or simply incompetent. I don't know. Outright large scale corruption is unlikely, but who knows...
All that we really need is a way to connect the driver to the passenger and some sort of assurance that the driver is not an ear collector. Uber seems to have done a fine job of creating such a model. Are there problems with it? Sure. But it is still better than the existing model. Given the advances in communications technology, the taxi business is obsolete unless it adapts...