TORONTO—There is a future on the horizon where GPS-enabled smartphones will sync with a social network that connects drivers with empty seats to passengers who want to go in the same direction.
It’s a revolution that has some predicting a death blow to the taxi industry, where many new Canadians carve out an unpredictable income working long hours driving other people’s cabs.
With dozens of rideshare apps in operation and many more entering the market, the revolution is now underway. Smartphone applications like SideCar, Lyft, and Amovens are building a culture of social media users who can use their phones to catch a cheap ride across the city to anywhere at any time.
An attractive selling point is that payments for rides through the applications are donation-based. Riders can see price suggestions for similar rides and can choose to pay directly from their phones. Typically saving the riders 30 percent off regular taxi fare could make the applications a threat to taxi businesses.
The CEO of Coventry Connections, a corporation that operates 17 taxi fleets across Ontario and employs over 2,000 drivers, says he wouldn’t be worried about rideshare applications entering the market if it wasn’t for their lack of regulation.
