Originally Posted by
phbl
i do not get why canadians have such issues with surge pricing. apparently charging higher when there's elevated demand and scarce supply is "evil". did you know what's worse than surge pricing? no taxis, like in calgary when it's colder than -10...or taxis locking their doors and asking you where you're going (to get a good fare) before they let you in.
then you're just back at square one, taxi cartels (who, by the way, treat their drivers as independent contractors)
i seriously do not work for uber btw...i'm just so sick and tired of the cartels in places like calgary and vancouver, and a media and political establishment too terrified to take these chumps on.
Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say evil and I do believe they have some good things to offer. I said surge pricing is not in the consumers best interest. And it's not. It can very easily cross a fine line between matching price to supply and demand over to opportunistic gouging. For people who are dependent on taxis like some seniors or the disabled it's very bad.
Here in BC if a driver refuses to pick you up or otherwise fails to follow regulation you get the company name and unit or plate number, call Min Tran and they get in trouble. That system works. I have complained about two drivers before and been quite satisfied with the results.
If people in an area agree that current prices or availability are not where they should be then that can be addressed. We don't live in a dictatorship and the taxi companies are not omnipotent. The media is not 'too terrified to take them on.' The media would hang them every day if it got ratings or sold papers but they know that most people just don't care. Like I said, I'd like to see some progress but like selling black market cigarettes at the train station or untaxed liquor from the back of a van I don't think Uber's doing it the right way.
Funny thing is a service like Uber's will probably be licensed soon here but it won't be Uber because of their strategies.