Ann Hui writes Thursday in the Globe and Mail that two former strategists for Mayor John Tory have been hired by Uber Taxi to advance its position in Toronto. They are Nick Kouvalis and John Duffy. It is not clear what should be made of this although it is worth knowing. Uber has now said it will apply for a taxi license in Toronto. If Uber got the idea from Kouvalis and Duffy good for them. It makes the point however that Uber couldn’t figure this out itself. Uber must also deal with legal action from the city requiring it to obey the law. And this is exactly the issue. Everywhere it goes around the world, Uber leaves a trail of disregard for the law and an apparently insatiable need to operate like some sort of privileged Ubermensch. Drivers who are not trained, cars not insured, fares that can leap into the stratosphere when it rains. Uber even tried to pretend that it wasn’t selling a taxi service. What bunk. Mayor Tory’s remarks seem to focus on the inevitable march of technology. But the problem is not technology. It is Uber. Technology is just technology. Uber has left an international trail of anger and resistance that makes trust almost impossible. It’s not the imagination of Councillor Jim Karygiannis and others that there is a problem.
What a load of bunk. It’s absolutely about the technology and how it is challenging a business model that is restrictive for new entrants and not focused on the consumer. I’ve gotten into cabs where the drivers don’t have a clue where they are going. I’ve argued with Limo drivers who “mistake” which zone my house is in for the airport trip. Uber is a way of giving more power back to consumers. The taxi company’s should be looking at this model and seeing how they can learn from it instead of fighting it tooth and nail.