Ottawans watching taxi war closely: Poll
By Dani-elle Dube, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Thursday, August 20, 2015 09:57 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, August 21, 2015 07:24 AM EDT
Ottawans are closely watching the city's taxi war unfold -- but it doesn't appear they've quite decided who they want to win.
A new poll conducted by Mainstreet Research paints a picture of a riding public that is split on whether Uber should be allowed to operate on this city's streets.
The vast majority of respondents said they have been following the issue, whether "very closely" or "somewhat closely," and that was the same across all age groups -- an outcome that surprised the pollster.
"When compared to other cities, Ottawa has the highest percentage of people following the issue," Quito Maggi, president and CEO of Mainstreet Research, told the Sun.
"It stood out."
The majority of those polled (58%) said that Uber should be held to the same standards as taxis through regulations upheld by the city.
Another strong majority say it's time to abolish the current taxi system in the city. There were 50% of respondents who offered that opinion, while only 13% said they believe in the current system.
But that's pretty much all that Ottawa can agree on. From then on things get tricky and the parting of the sea begins.
When asked if the ride-sharing service should be banned, 40% of people said "yes" while 36% said "no."
Much of the support comes from the younger demographic, said Maggi, which is expected.
"Support for Uber is pretty split in most communities and Ottawa's no different," said Maggie.
As for Ottawa's feelings about the Uber versus taxi battle, it's a close call.
About 34% say that the situation is fair and 33% feel that taxi drivers should face the competition.
Respondents also made it clear they feel safer in city-regulated taxis.
About 89% of male and 86% of female respondents said they feel either very safe or somewhat safe using Ottawa's taxis -- while only 55% of men and 46% of women said they felt safe with Uber.
Maggi attributes people's perception of Uber to uncertainty.
"The cities where Uber has launched most recently show the lowest support," said Maggi. "This is because people don't necessarily know or aren't aware of what it is and its benefits or its risks. So there is this inherent fear of change and that's not unusual."
Mainstreet surveyed 7,323 Canadians across six cities on Aug, 12-13, dialling a mix of landlines and cellphones. The margin of error for the Ottawa statistics was 2.65 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Results were weighed by language (where applicable), age and gender based on the 2011 Canadian Census.
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http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/08/20/...r-closely-poll
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Agreed on all fronts. Though technically receiving money for a carpool is part of the underground economy, but I see nothing wrong with it. Taxi drivers are just trying to protect their broken business model - no different than the music industry 15 years ago.
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