Automotive News Canada - November 2017 - 17

17

* N O V E M B E R 2017

Uber mired in provincial variances, regulatory battles
Increased training
times and stringent
checks on drivers
are at odds with
the company's
business model
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

UBER IS CONFIDENT IT
can eventually achieve the
same level of market penetration in Canada as it does in
the United States, despite regulatory showdowns in three
of the country's largest provinces.
The ride-hailing service
backed down in October on a
threat to leave Quebec over
proposed regulations that
would require its drivers to
undergo 35 hours of training and a police background
check, commitments like those
required of taxi drivers.
The company's decision
to remain in Quebec came as
it also was lobbying legislators in British Columbia and
Manitoba to allow it to operate in those provinces, which
would open the markets in
Vancouver, Victoria and
Winnipeg.
Adam Blinick, public affairs director at Uber
Canada, said the company is
confident that it will soon be
able to operate in every major
Canadian market. He said the
pace of regulatory approval in
Canada has lagged most markets in the United States, but
that has not deterred Uber.
"The U.S. is where a lot
of this happened earlier and
quicker, so there's a level of
familiarity there," Blinick

Uber says its business model
doesn't jibe with the onerous
municipal regulations being
imposed in some provinces
and cities. ( P H O TO : U B E R )

said. "It hastened an earlier response from regulators.
Canada is on a similar time
horizon."

Outside of Quebec, Uber
operates in Toronto, Ottawa,
Calgary and Edmonton.
The pace of Uber adoption in Canada has been slower than in the United States,
in large part due to regulatory battles such as those happening in Quebec and British
Columbia. In markets where
ride hailing is permitted,
Uber is the major player in
town; its top U.S. competitor,
Lyft, does not yet operate in
Canada but it plans to expand
to Toronto by the end of the
year.
At the heart of the regula-

tion debate is whether Uber
effectively operates with an
unfair advantage over taxis
by facing fewer safety and
employment regulations.
Quebec's proposal is designed
to fix that, proponents say.
"My job is to put a regulatory framework in place,"
Quebec Transport Minister
Andre Fortin told the CBC in
October.
"Whether a specific private
company decides to operate
within it, it's not for me to be
for or against that."
Blinick said Uber is "cautiously optimistic" that it can

work with Quebec and other
provinces to find solutions to
their concerns while allowing the company to operate in
them. Still, proposals to greatly increase training times and
stringent background checks
on drivers are typically harmful to Uber's business model,
he said.
"When that happens, we
see rules that do little to
increase safety but hinder
people's ability to become
drivers," he said. "Frankly,
those rules just don't work
with our model and its benefits." - ANC

THINK INNOVATION, DURABILITY, QUALITY
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KAR auctions now
owns all of TradeRev
By MICHAEL GOETZ

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

IN 2014, KAR AUCTION
Services, of Carmel, Ind., a
brick-and-mortar auction company, took a 50 per cent stake
in Toronto-based TradeRev, a
digital remarketing platform
that allows dealers to buy and
sell vehicles with their peers,
instead of sending the vehicles
to a physical auction.
On Oct. 3, KAR acquired the
remaining half of TradeRev,
for US $50 million (about Cdn
$65 million) cash up front, and
US $75 million (Cdn $95 million) in a four-year "earn out."
"The acquisition really signals that KAR believes the
future is digital," said Mark
Endras, the principal founder and now former chief of
TradeRev.
Becca Polak becomes the
new president of TradeRev,
working out of KAR's headquarters in Carmel. Endras
will take on a new role with
KAR. From Toronto, he will
focus establishing new KAR
innovation labs in Toronto,
Chicago and Carmel. - ANC

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