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Uber up for discussion as municipal leaders meet

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VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The provincial government has released details of what the public thinks of Uber, but it’s still unclear when or even if BC is set to get the ride-hailing service in our region. But that won’t stop local mayors and other local leaders discussing the technology as they meet at the Union of BC Municipalities conference this week in Victoria.

The whole situation is leading to outrage from people upset with the cost and level of service provided by cabs. And it’s getting to the point where some are wondering whether we’re going to be the last place in the world to get the new technology.

Globe and Mail Columnist Gary Mason is fed up and wrote a piece outlining his concerns earlier this month. “The reason we don’t have Uber here is because we’re trying to protect the taxi industry, and I think that’s incredibly unfair,” says Mason. “Why are we protecting the taxi industry? There’s all sorts of industries that have been hit by the advances of technology.”

He adds he could even use the ride-hailing service in Brazil’s favelas when he was down covering the Rio Olympics earlier this year. “City politicians are so worried about the taxi industry, the clout that they have, the donations they perhaps make to Vision Vancouver — they don’t have the gumption to make a call on this,” says Mason. “That’s what’s irritating.”

As for the taxi industry, it insists it has no problem with the likes of Uber, so long as ride-hailing drivers are equally regulated. “We’ve always been of the same stance,” says Carolyn Bauer with the Vancouver Taxi Association. “It has to be a fair and level playing field. We’ve always said that. They need to have proper criminal record background checks. They need to have proper insurance coverage.”

Taxi drivers in cities which have accepted Uber have held large protests in recent years over lost work as a result of the new technology.

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