The Province of Ontario is finally getting the picture that ride sharing is here to stay. And the insurance companies, surely smelling potential profit have convinced the province that it needs to modernize the insurance industry in order to protect all those souls in danger of losing everything by rising in an Uber instead of a taxi. Part of the ongoing argument against ride sharing apps is that the driver does not have the same level of coverage that a regular taxi driver is forced to have and that should an accident occur the passenger would have little recourse in mitigating any damage or injuries that may occur to their persons. The argument from the other side, the ride sharing apps and even passengers is that why wouldn’t the insurance policy that covers a regular passenger be sufficient if there was to be an accident? Both sides have valid arguments.
The ride sharing services feel that any increase in insurance premiums would put their business at risk as many of the drivers who perform this service only do it part time to supplement income and the burden of paying exceptionally high premiums would result in many choosing to hang up their ride sharing hats and just stop. The other side argues that the coverage a regular policy holds is wholly insufficient in the event that there is an accident and the passenger is either injured or decides to hold the driver accountable and sues the insurance company.
The problem it seems is finding that happy medium whereby the ride sharing drivers have the necessary coverage without putting them out of business completely. There is also a subset of individuals who feel that this is a kneejerk reaction by politicians who are feeling the wrath of a taxi industry that has for years had the power to lobby government for the changes it wants to see and the threat posed by the ride sharing companies poses an existential threat to the industry as a whole.
It remains to be seen exactly what the fees will be for the ride sharing services but the fact that the insurance companies have a say in the changes does not bode well for the part time ride sharing driver who is just trying to make a little extra money. You can bet that the increase in rates will do exactly what the taxi companies hope and convince many it is just not worth the extra hassle.
