Ride-sharing giant Uber officially launched in northeastern Ontario on Monday, making it the first in the region to go live under a new provincial framework. Sudbury’s Kim Hancock is ‘rider zero’ in Greater Sudbury – the term Uber uses to describe its first passenger in a new community. Hancock said Uber is another option to get people home safely after they’ve been drinking. She’s been working with MADD Canada since her son, D.J. Hancock, was killed 12 years ago after he was struck by an impaired driver. “We do live in the north, so sometimes it is harder to get home,” Hancock told CTV News after a news conference Monday. “We don’t have bus service where we live. So, it makes it tough … Uber will just make it another tool to use and hopefully keep impaired drivers off the road.” Uber Canada spokesperson Laura Miller said users download the same app that’s used in 700 communities in Canada and 10,000 cities around the world. “Really, we want people to have that kind of seamless, convenient experience,” Miller said. Sudbury is one of 79 communities in the northeast where Uber is now available. Ride availability depends on the number of active drivers in a given community. Supports Northlander routes Uber said it is the first to operate under Ontario’s new, one-year pilot rideshare framework. It supports transportation options within the Northlander corridor, between Gravenhurst and Cochrane, including Sudbury, North Bay and Timmins. “It’s not about one company over another or one transportation option over the other,” said Marie Litalien, president of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. “It’s really about increasing the availability of safe, reliable, accessible transportation in our community because the need is there.” Two other ride-sharing companies operate in the northeast region: Uride and Y Drive. In an email, Rob Davidson, founder and COO at Y Drive, said he’s not opposed to Uber expanding, but takes issue with the government’s policy changes. “The new rules themselves take a lot of safety, oversight, and management away from the industry and just trust companies to do the right thing,” Davidson said in the email. “(The pilot rideshare framework) is not making things safer; it’s making it easier for a billion-dollar company to monopolize the industry by removing any barriers, regardless of reason those barriers are there in the first place.” And Cody Ruberto, founder and CEO of Uride, expressed similar concerns. “Amid the ongoing trade tensions with the U.S., rider feedback is clear: Canadians want to support homegrown companies like Uride,” Ruberto said in a statement. “Municipal bylaws are not a barrier to rideshare companies launching in northern Ontario markets. Despite this, larger American companies have lobbied for years to override municipal rules.” “We are cautiously optimistic that the current provincial pilot will not reduce service in northern Ontario but remain concerned it limits municipalities’ ability to regulate vehicles operating safely on their roads,” he added. “Municipalities should be free to set stronger safety standards or opt into the provincial framework if they choose.” But Miller said safety is a top priority for Uber. “The Ontario government has set consistent rules for background checks, for vehicle inspections, for insurance, for safety,” she said. “That for us is really just the foundation because our platform – we have safety features that are embedded before, during and after the trip. So, if anything does go wrong, people have the confidence of 24/7 safety support.”
