Uber is coming to town...

[MAPearce]

Who wins or loses will be up to them competing against each other on fair & even grounds.

And that's the reason why the provincial MCC exists. They make sure the only difference between companies is basically the level of customer service ..

My bet is that IF Uber is allowed to operate in BC , they will have to pony up big time.. It's not likely that the gov't will lower standards to allow cut rate transportation companies to exist . They'll just be losing too much money .

[jbraidwo]

Uber will come to Kelowna, that will happen, can not be stopped.

In Kelowna you have basically 2 taxi companies, Kelowna and Checkmate. In Kelowna cabs the actual owner of each cab make a decent return on their investment, the drivers who get a percentage of the meter make a low to medium income but work 60 hours a week to do this. in Checkmate the drivers lease the cabs from the owner and make a low to medium income.

The big problem is that right now you have about 200 drivers in Kelowna making a decent enough income. Once you add Uber to field that income will drop alot, the actual owners of the cabs will see their investment worth about 300,000 per cab fall to nothing.

Sure the drivers can start to work for Uber, most make terrible wages. do a google search for uber forums. One big problem for people that might work for Uber in Canada is GST. Uber does not charge this but the driver if they do over 30,000 per year will have to pay it.

The Taxi industry will be changing a lot in the next few years. You cant stop it.

[LTD]

cant be stopped haha that's funny if its not approved or they choose not follow guidelines put in place by the province you wont be able to get insurance or your insurance will be null and void anyone who decides to do this would be a complete fool without proper coverage so yes it can very easily be stopped

[nikonfan]

We will see major changes in all sorts of businesses in the future. The strangle hold that regulations put on brick and mortar business won't work in a business that can pop up here and there. When times get tough enough where people will do what ever it takes to feed there family all the stupid rules, taxes, regulations,,insurances will all go out the window. Not much different than the millions of dollars in GST that are not collected in the underground economy. When taxes and regulations get to a point where it strangles the economy people will do 2 things, just go where the business climate is welcome and regulations are kept reasonable or they just close shop and say screw it! It's not rocket science!

[MAPearce]

In Kelowna cabs the actual owner of each cab make a decent return on their investment, the drivers who get a percentage of the meter make a low to medium income but work 60 hours a week to do this.

WRONG...... The drivers get a percentage of the meter OR guaranteed minimum wage for hours worked ..

The 60 hours per week is *bleep*... The Nation Safety Council doesn't permit a driver to work 60 hours per week AND an owner can't afford to pay 40 hours at regular pay and 20 at overtime.. That's Kelowna cabs ..

Checkmate drivers are lease operators and therefore self employed.. The are required to collect and submit GST payments every three monthson the GROSS the collect in fares , the the rest of the taxes that most other pay.

Either company's drivers are restricted from working 60 hours per week..

[jbraidwo]

"The 60 hours per week is *bleep*"

Your wrong, I drove taxi in Kelowna for 3 years. Have you?

[jbraidwo]

Maybe you should do a little search 1st before posting something or have a little knowledge about it.
Yellow cabs work 6- 10 hour shifts a week and checkmate work 5-12 hour shift
Those hours are allowed by the government.
I worked nights for 3 years in Kelowna, next time you drive by a taxi in the evening ask the driver?

[Dizzy1]

The 60 hours per week is *bleep*... The Nation Safety Council doesn't permit a driver to work 60 hours per week AND an owner can't afford to pay 40 hours at regular pay and 20 at overtime.. That's Kelowna cabs ..

Aren't taxi's seating less than 10 were exempt from the NSC?

[MAPearce]

"The 60 hours per week is *bleep*"

Your wrong, I drove taxi in Kelowna for 3 years. Have you?

Uh ... Yeah.

Aren't taxi's seating less than 10 were exempt from the NSC?

From my understanding , Not anymore. My last shift was over 8 year ago in Lanford and the company I worked for wouldn't allow driver to work more than 5 10 hours shifts due to NSC rules.. There was a time when drivers could work til thew cows came home , by that's changed .

[Atomoa]

Does this mean that people will be able to get a safe ride home without waiting 2+ hours on Friday/ Saturdays nights after the bars close?

[goatboy]

Page 7 seems to indicate that the only restriction is no more than 13 hours per day, minimum of 8 hours off duty and at least one 24 hours break every 14 days. no mention of not being able to work 7 days of 13 hour shifts if you wanted to. Now, company policies may be different and seeing the MA worked in Victoria 8 years ago and jbraid worked in Kelowna I think I would go with the latters opinion.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cvse/references_publications/booklets1-6/pdf/booklet_5_national_safety_code.pdf

[goatboy]

Does this mean that people will be able to get a safe ride home without waiting 2+ hours on Friday/ Saturdays nights after the bars close?

Yes, but there would probably be some surge pricing on that trip. Still probably cheaper than a cab though.

[MAPearce]

Does this mean that people will be able to get a safe ride home without waiting 2+ hours on Friday/ Saturdays nights after the bars close?

It might ... But when Uber drivers find out what "bar rush" is really like , I'm willing to bet you're stuck waiting for a cab...

Face it , those who do it for a living have to put up with *bleep* puking in their cars , verbal abuse from drunk idiots ( females being the WORST) about how much it cost to get home without considering that they spent 200 bucks all night on hootch and tips in a lame attempt to get layed and the whole gamut of weekend night shift BS...

I doubt Uber drivers have the stomach or balls to put up with that in ANY town.. ...

[Even Steven]

It will be different for Uber than cabbies. Uber riders just like Uber drivers get rated by their drivers. If somebody is rude, or pukes, or abusive, he'll get low-graded in a heartbeat (or removed from Uber system altogether) and no uber driver will pick them up. With cabbies though same *bleep* can call the cab company or different cab companies numerous times and never be refused service. Also, Uber has cleaning fees in its agreement, so if you puke, you're paying for it automatically.

[MAPearce]

It will be different for Uber than cabbies. Uber riders just like Uber drivers get rated by their drivers. If somebody is rude, or pukes, or abusive, he'll get low-graded in a heartbeat (or removed from Uber system altogether) and no uber driver will pick them up. With cabbies though same *bleep* can call the cab company or different cab companies numerous times and never be refused service. Also, Uber has cleaning fees in its agreement, so if you puke, you're paying for it automatically.

Another reason that the provincial MCC exists...

Picking and choosing customers to select the cream isn't part of the deal...And if you puke in a cab , there is a cleaning charge.There is also a dismissal charge for cancellation at the door BTW

But good luck trying to collect that....