Hailing Uber
Welcome Uber and Lyft ("The inevitability of Uber," cover story by Jacob Boon, October 4)! That's right—run Bob's Taxi out of business and put an end to the monopoly on the cab business in HRM. Sick of Bob's rude dispatchers, drivers that show up hours late in the winter (if they show up at all), and the exorbitant price of their fares! Bring on the competitors!!! Bon voyage, Bob's!!! —posted at thecoast.ca by JuicyLucy69
Can't wait for Uber. Then I will actually be able to get a ride. No taxi service out in the 'burbs of HRM. —posted by Alan Chilton
With the current system broken (Saturday night at 9pm and cab companies are not answering the phone), why would we not want Uber and Lyft? The cab issue is reminiscent of the 20-year moratorium on construction here in Halifax. Makes no sense to maintain the status quo simply because a very small group of people don't like it. —posted by Agra Phol
Let's not forget how Uber actually treats its own staff—especially female staff being sexually harassed, abused and appraised lower than their male counterparts.
While I can understand it's easy to get on board with Uber based on its low prices, there are better ways to serve Haligonians that doesn't subject drivers to absurdly low wages (in some cases, they lose money while driving for Uber!). In the UK, all black cabs across the country can be hailed using an app (Gett). It's still a black cab, it's still the same prices, but you get the convenience of an app that works everywhere in the country, with card payments in the app, and progress reports via GPS and Google Maps where your taxi is. It even lets you call the cabbie directly by phone.
I'd say Halifax would be better served by modernizing its taxi bylaws (not necessarily deregulation), and adopting some other app that hooks into the existing taxi space. While Canada is certainly a big country, it might be worth striking up a dialogue with Toronto, or other Maritime cities to see what opportunities they have for collaboration could be. —posted by Neptunian
Dal's drunk logic
Dear Dalhousie University president Richard Florizone,
While in theory I do not disagree with the intentions of a homecoming event, I have to wonder, if the students are already here attending classes, exactly what are they coming home to? As I watched the drunken students parading around the Jubilee Road neighbourhood from 9am that recent Saturday, I did not see any middle-aged or older folks staggering out drunk, for which I am grateful. Perhaps they have managed to attend whatever campus-based events were planned.
From the viewpoint of a neighbour of the university, I cannot see how this event is any different than the St. Patrick's Day event (which I realize is not university sponsored, merely condoned). But if in your wisdom you can see some value to a homecoming which seems to exclude alumni, I would like to know of it.
—Laureen van Lierop, Halifax
