Toronto’s mayor-elect John Tory catches a lot of grief on these pages, in large part because of his ignominious stint as leader of the Ontario Conservative party. But when somebody does something praiseworthy, the policy here is to praise him.
What did John Tory do that was worth patting him on the back? His response to the recent introduction of the Uber taxi service in Toronto. The stage was set by the Municipal Licencing and Standards Toronto who sided with the existing taxicab monopoly:
“Uber does not have a licence to operate in Toronto…We have filed 35 charges relating to Uber... this is at the provincial court level."
John Tory went strongly against the City’s regulators. He said:
Tory said launching a court injunction isn't the way to deal with Uber and services like it.
"I just think we use what I'll call old-fashioned methods like court cases … when in fact these kinds of technological changes are here to stay," said Tory.
Tory said Uber's bosses must understand that they can't operate outside city regulations, but also said city bureaucrats and traditional taxi companies must acknowledge that the taxi business is changing.
"You sit down [with the operators] and sort these things out," said Tory. "But you don't sort them out from the premise that says these applications are going away, that we're going to go back to the way things were before.
Why is this significant to Toronto’s residents?
Because Uber is a disruptive technology and the current taxicab industry is a dysfunctional, outdated monopoly that serves both the cab owners and the consumers poorly. Because the number of taxicabs in the city has been fixed, a taxi licence in the city runs at over $100K per car. In the meantime, there is a shortage of taxis in the city. Ever try to find a cab on New Year’s Eve? I though providing alternatives to drinking and driving was a good thing. Who on earth thought that capping the number of taxicabs in the city is something that we should do?
As well, taxi fares are fixed throughout Toronto, optimized for downtown Toronto. This means that in the suburbs, where distances are much greater but the roads are better and traffic congestions less, taxis have been priced to the point of being a rare luxury good. For instance, though I live within city limits, a taxi ride from the last subway stop to my house is close to $30. This is nuts. But I guess there is no need to provide alternatives to impaired driving out here.
This is where Uber comes in. It provides a smartphone app that partners up people who need a ride with drivers who sign up with Uber. As most of these drivers are not within the existing taxicab monopoly, consumers are served better but the owners of expensive taxi licence are threatened.
If Uber can help break this long-outdated monopoly, then more power to them. And if John Tory enables this to happen by reigning in the city regulators, then three cheers to him.
Surprised the hell out of me when I heard it. Could it be that John Tory is the free market capitalist that we all dreamed would one day lead us? Toronto's Ronald Reagan? Maybe I just need some sleep.
Posted by: WiseGuy | November 22, 2014 at 12:12 AM