On October 15, 2015, Uber arrived in Calgary. With its arrival came the usual debate that cities like Toronto and Vancouver have been experiencing over the past few months.
In cities across North America, Uber has received very mixed reviews. Although the ride-sharing platform now provides over one million rides every month for its users around the world, it has experienced resistance from various governments. Many regulators and public officials are worried that Uber’s unregulated nature will lead to a decrease in public safety. Taxi drivers are worried that their jobs will be encroached upon by untrained individuals; taxi companies are worried that their customer base will greatly diminish. In fact, in Toronto, taxi drivers are suing Uber for $300 million because it is creating an “illegal marketplace” in Toronto.
This past Friday, a Court of Queen’s Bench judge granted the city’s application for a temporary injunction, forcing Uber to suspend services in Calgary. With a company whose valuation recently broke the $50 billion mark, making it worth about as much as Ford or Costco, city officials across the country will have to continue thinking of ways to safely implement new services Uber in their cities.
With famous philanthropists like Brett Wilson and Michele Romanow urging the city to adopt the ride-sharing platform, is it time we supported Uber, a company co-founded by Calgarian Garrett Camp? Or are there other issues that we have to consider first?