According to articles in today's Herald, other companies are satisfied with Calgary's new by-law and are looking to start up service.
Quote:
Uber may have taken its ball and threatened to go home, but local taxi and ride- service companies say the city’s new bylaw legalizing ride- sharing in Calgary has a lot of potential.
“This will just open the doors to allow us to accommodate more people,” said Ginger Greenwood, general manager for Keys Please. “We have had a number of clients over the years that have asked us to perform this very function.”
Keys Please has provided a designateddriver service in Calgary since 1997, but can now broaden its operations under the new rules — something it couldn’t do under the old system, said Greenwood.
“It’s something that we’ve endeavoured to get into for a number of years,” she said. “We’ve always been turned away from the City of Calgary livery because of the strict requirements that they have to enable us to get licences.”
The company already has a smartphone app for its designateddriver service.
It is currently developing a rideshare app it hopes to launch shortly after the bylaw is implemented and once Alberta’s superintendent of insurance approves a new product that would provide ride- share drivers enhanced coverage under their personal insurance policies.
“Assuming everything falls into place ... I would imagine within 30 to 60 days we would be launching,” she said.
While Uber — a company valued at $ 50 billion — complained the fee structure under the new bylaw made its business model “unworkable,” Greenwood said the associated costs are affordable.
“We don’t find it too costly,” she said. “We want our drivers to generate money and we want success as we’ve had with the designated-driving portion.”
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