Vancouver should reconsider bans on companies like Uber: Competition Bureau
Posted November 25, 2014 8:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Uber and other quasi-taxi services are getting a boost from Canada’s competition watchdog.
The Competition Bureau says cities including Vancouver should reconsider their bans on Uber and similar services and “explore whether less restrictive regulations could adequately address their concerns.”
After banning ride-sharing companies since 2012, Vancouver is conducting a six-month review of the entire taxi industry.
While the bureau admits that it is “not well-placed to assess safety concerns,” it says it is “able to highlight to regulators what they give up in terms of reduced competition when these innovative offerings are prohibited.”
It says that it “has received numerous complaints concerning the taxi industry” over the years.
The bureau says governments should ” properly consider the impact their rules and policies have on competition and ultimately, on the prices, choices, and service quality available to consumers.”
It adds that for innovation to be successful, “markets must be receptive to those efforts.”
