Bowman Uber-hopeful MPI, ride-hailing firms find way to give Winnipeggers a Lyft
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/01/2018 (2264 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Mayor Brian Bowman is hopeful Winnipeggers will soon be able to use ride-hailing services, even though the industry’s two main players have slammed the brakes on plans to begin driving in the city.
“Winnipeggers want ride-sharing, and Mayor Bowman… continues to believe greater competition and choice in the marketplace will improve overall service quality for consumers,” Bowman’s press secretary Jeremy Davis said in an email Tuesday.
“Nevertheless, Mayor Bowman continues to be hopeful that Manitoba Public Insurance and ride-sharing companies will be able to find a road to yes within the framework now approved by the Public Utilities Board.”
On Monday, the Public Utilities Board approved Manitoba Public Insurance’s plan for ride-hailing services, which Uber Canada had already publicly decried.
In a statement to the Free Press last week, Uber spokeswoman Susie Heath said that based on MPI’s proposed vehicles-for-hire insurance rates, the company would “be unable to consider expansion of services to Winnipeg on March 1, 2018.”
Lyft spokeswoman Chelsea Harrison echoed Uber’s argument Tuesday.
“We see tremendous opportunity for Lyft in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, the current insurance framework would not allow true ride-sharing to operate in the province,” Harrison said in an email. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Manitoba Public Insurance corporation to find a way forward that prioritizes public safety and consumer choice.”
The Crown agency, however, has no plans to budge on its end, MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said.
“I don’t think the word ‘compromise’ would be accurate,” Smiley said Tuesday. “I think the words would be ‘education and awareness’ with Uber in terms of our system.
“With the model we have in place, (Uber) certainly haven’t been in the public insurance system in the past. They’re in private auto insurance (and) there are differences between private and public auto insurance and we’re working through educating them in terms of the public auto system.”
The Winnipeg Community Taxi Coalition, which has been vocal in its opposition to different rules for ride-hailing competition, is clearly pleased with recent events, which suggest that Uber and Lyft won’t be here on March 1, when the MPI vehicle-for-hire rates will be in place.
“We’ll be there providing service 24/7,” spokesman Scott McFadyen said Tuesday. “We’re going to be focused on safety. We’re full-time professional drivers; we’re not part-time amateur drivers.”
Taxi drivers believe MPI’s vehicles-for-hire rate structure is “blatantly unfair,” he said.
In December, MPI applied to the PUB to create a separate vehicle insurance class for ride-hailing company drivers with the cost based on four “time bands” covering various weekday and weekend shifts, each costing five per cent above that vehicle’s all-purpose rate. MPI said drivers could choose one band, a combination of two or three, or all four of them.
The maximum surcharge would be 20 per cent above the all-purpose rate, which MPI said is comparable to what is charged in other jurisdictions. Drivers can reduce premiums depending on the time bands they select, the public auto insurer added.
Smiley said taxi drivers are able to apply for the new time bands insurance class to save money, something McFadyen said would be impractical because most cabs are on the road 24/7. The coalition isn’t opposed to its drivers also working for ride-hailing companies during their off hours, he said.
He said the coalition is also brainstorming service improvements for spring, to coincide with legislation and insurance rates enabling ride-hailing in the province. Those could include adding driver ratings and photos to taxi apps and attempting to cut down on wait times, he said.
— with files from Larry Kusch
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @_jessbu