Dear Editor:
Before we accept the so-called inevitable, much more is at stake than cheap rides that new technologies might offer. While we hear complaints about getting a taxi in downtown Vancouver late at night, when in Burnaby has getting a taxi been a problem? As a life-long resident, taxis in Burnaby pretty much appear promptly when called, drivers are generally courteous, and overall what is so broken that needs fixing? This is not an excuse for continuing with the status quo, but instead a plea for reasoned thinking that looks at all aspects of changing the way we move around as customer needs change.
We must also not forget who is pushing this Wild West show – firms such as Lyft, or better known UBER, itself a multi-national corporation last valued at a humungous +$60 billion USD. Are we to sacrifice local small-time entrepreneurs who work long hours and generally serve the community well for the sake of cheap prices at non-busy times? Of course what comes with such innovations is the certainty of much inflated prices at peak times, which is dubbed "surge pricing” by the likes of UBER. And if criticism is due, then let’s look at the province’s Passenger Transportation Board that has not encouraged modernization in the taxi sector.
Can more be done to improve customer service – of course, and taxi operators will need to accept the challenge of keeping up with the times. And kudos to the city for demanding that the current rules be followed until new ones are considered and accepted by all parties. And this is because not everyone is tech savvy, so we must protect those without access to fancy smartphones to get rides when they need them. In sum, I say public safety first, and I call on council to ensure that any decision they make on new licensing rules to enable broader transportation choices ensures as paramount the well-being of Burnaby residents.
But it is remarkably naïve for the Burnaby Now to hint these new transportation services as potential to augment TransLink offerings. Just the opposite is happening with these commercial ride-share services already starting to take business from transit operators. For example, the “UBER Pool” service operates transit-like services in major US cities, and the company just announced the service has been tested in Toronto, despite UBER® not having a license to operate, and is currently doing so without valid permits and liability insurance. And a study done recently in Toronto found that the unlicensed UBER-X service has caused a decrease in use of public transit, and this is even before the dedicated UBER Pool transit service is fully functional.
Why does this all matter to Burnaby residents and businesses? Well, even a small diversion of transit users to for-profit commercial operators can inflict an enormous blow to the already beleaguered TransLink finances. Let’s not pretend here that these multi-national corporations will stop at just providing an APP-enabled taxi service – the real prize is skimming the cream from high-density and profitable transit routes. This will leave the public purse to either make up the difference, or see even a further cuts in transit services across Burnaby.
The stakes are much higher than making it easy to push a button to get a taxi ride – the very fabric of the region’s transit system is at risk if the province’s new transportation service policy gets this wrong.
Joe Sulmona, Burnaby
