Uber has been around for 6 years, it started operating in major cities 5 years ago. It first launched in Canada nearly 4 years ago. Uber's first test into Calgary was over 2 years ago. When the test run was over Uber issued a statement that said it would be operating in Calgary the second they amended the rules for it. And yet the city did nothing except make it clear that it was illegal. Not one bit of change. If it's not corruption, it's incompetency.
There's clearly a lot to be addressed, insurance, driver background checks, vehicle inspections, etc. etc. but if the city was serious about those issues they could have amended the current bylaws to address those issues long before today. They didn't. Instead the current law explicitly outlaws a company like Uber operating in Calgary under any circumstance. It's pathetic.
And this isn't just about the convenience of Uber, studies have shown that it has a positive affect on the DUI rates in multiple cities that it has entered. It's literally saving lives.
http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery....104002&EXT=pdf
Quote:
Economically, results indicate that the entrance of Uber X results in a 3.6% – 5.6% decrease in
the rate of motor vehicle homicides per quarter in the state of California. With more than 13k deaths
occurring nationally each year due to alcohol related car crashes at a cost of 37 billion dollars, results
indicate that a complete implementation of Uber X would create a public welfare net of over 1.3 billion to
American taxpayers and save roughly 500 lives annually
|