The Mayor of Toronto has come under fire for allowing Uber to offer a new service without securing the insurance necessary for its drivers to operate commercially.
Bob Kinnear, president of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Workers, sent out a written statement on Tuesday, criticizing Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne for allowing the newest Uber service.
The service in question is UberHOP, a downtown shuttle which allows customers to share a ride with other commuters along the city’s most active routes during the morning and evening rush hours. The service is being offered at a $5 flat fee.
In his statement, Kinnear shared his grievances about the potential public safety and gridlock issues that UberHOP could cause.
“All they will do it create congestion, chaos and conflict on Toronto streets, especially in the downtown core, where congestion is already intolerable,” he said.
He also mentioned that it is a cause for concern when unregulated drivers are moving people across the city when they do not have the required insurance to use their personal automobiles as commercial vehicles.
“The bottom line is that we have bylaws, we have laws and regulations that all people are expected to meet and it is somewhat disappointing that the mayor of the city and even the premier for that matter have basically thrown their arms up and said, ‘Well, there is not much we can do,’” Kinnear remarked in an interview with local news outlet CP24.
Kinnear insists that his concerns about the transportation network company’s new service are not motivated by the potential loss of transit jobs it could cost the TTC, reasoning that Uber cannot match the TTC’s 1.5 million daily rides.
