Expert: Uber (May 13, 2016)

"Transport Minister Jacques Daoust stood firm on his promise to regulate the ride-sharing service Uber and tabled Bill 100 on Thursday, which would effectively force Uber drivers to buy or rent taxi permits." (The Montreal Gazette)

Richard Shearmur, Professor, School of Urban Planning, McGill University

“The Uber question is not primarily about taxi services, but about two key issues. 1) Who bears the costs of innovation? 2) Is it private corporations or governments (and through them the population) which legislate and decide upon the rules that govern commerce and safety? The Quebec government’s new bill (Bill 100) asserts the government’s sovereignty (as opposed to Uber’s), and recognizes that innovations are necessary, but not at any speed and at any cost: their social consequences need to be assessed, and innovation – which is necessary in the taxi industry – should be introduced in a way that incorporates safeguards for customers and for existing taxi drivers who have respected current rules. These rules need updating, and Bill 100 recognizes this: more discussion and debate will no doubt be necessary in order to determine how best to do this.”—Richard Shearmur

Urban and regional economic development; geography of innovation; intra-metropolitan urban form; issues of measurement and numbers.

richard [dot] shearmur [at] mcgill [dot] ca. He's available to comment by email or through Skype.