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November 14, 2008

Saving the environment in Ontario just became illegal

Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:47 AM ET

How's that for a sensationalist headline? I couldn't resist.

The Ontario Highway Transport Board has recently ruled that rideshare website Pickup Pal is breaking the law by allowing users to coordinate carpools and offer rides to mutually convenient destinations for a fee.

The Toronto Star reports that the decision was instigated by chartered bus company Trentway-Wagar Inc. who got their panties in a bunch over claimed lost revenue sucked up by rideshare services. They insisted that Pickup Pal was violating the Public Vehicles Act by allowing users to offer up their cars as "public vehicles" without the proper green light.

What's next, the Sheraton waging war against CouchSurfers? Nannies lashing out against babysitters?

During a time when Tim Hortons cups are fodder for intense political debate and parents obsess about the environmental repercussions of disposable diapers, it's more than a little disappointing that the OHTB folded so quickly. I suppose in poor economic times, capitalism and the bottom line trumps community and environmental concerns every time.

I have no doubt that the dollar will recover, but what card will be played next to squash low-budget, community-based organizations like Rideshare.

To salt the wound, the ruling came shortly after legislation to legalize ridesharing in Ontario, for the purpose of reducing emissions and easing congestion, was proposed last month.

Here's hoping it passes.

More entries on: Environment

Previous: Review: Thomas L. Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded
Next: Listen to This podcast: Toronto Life's Aqsa Parvez cover story, "Girl, Interrupted"

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Reader comments:

This is not the first time that the OHTB has made such a ruling. Last year, a student-run system to use rented school buses to move University of Waterloo students to Toronto on Fridays and back to Waterloo on Mondays, for a fee, was squashed because of a complaint from Greyhound Canada. The OHTB and similar organizations exist to restrain trade rather than encourage it.

Posted by: D. B. Scott at November 14, 2008 02:23 PM

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It's a shame, but then I think I can see the logic in it.

The problem would be that we're talking about PAID ride-sharing... if you're giving rides to strangers for money, you're running a business, and we have all kinds of laws & rules that apply (for good reason) to those who run businesses. (I don't know this for a fact, but I'm betting that commercial transport companies have to carry commercial liability insurance, and I also suspect that most people's personal car insurance doesn't cover commercial passengers. Bit of a problem!)

If a random individual wants to sell rides for money, without meeting regulatory standards, taxi drivers would have very good reason to say, "Hey, who do I have to follow rules and they don't?"

Posted by: Chris MacDonald at November 14, 2008 07:18 PM

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Is that how it works, though? My impression was that the purpose of rideshare programs was to organize a carpool to a mutually convenient destination (ie. you're going to a concert in Montreal and agree to take some people along) and then the driver gets compensated for gas/wear-and-tear on the car. It's hardly a business in that sense.

I suppose it would be easy for someone to abuse the system, but if that's the case, banning rideshare programs certainly isn't the solution.

Posted by: Melissa at November 14, 2008 09:44 PM

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