Uber and us | The Press

“We sold a lie to people. »

These words are those of Mark MacGann, former lobbyist for Uber in Europe. This week, he revealed that he was the author of leaked internal documents – the Uber Files – which detail the tactics employed by the San Francisco tech company to establish itself in major cities around the world.

You have to read the reports or listen to the podcast episodes (those of the British newspaper The Guardian are excellent) on this case to remember how relentlessly Uber bulldozed the taxi industry.

Uber entered cities – including Montreal, in 2013 – by kicking down the door. It has garnered admiration by offering a dauntingly simple and effective transport application for both customers and drivers. It seduced these drivers by collecting low royalties. She lured customers with free groceries.

Uber was cool.

The taxi ? It was…not terrible. Let’s not forget: it was an industry set in its ways, which balked every time a new regulation forced it to improve passenger service. In Montreal, it took until 2017 for the Bureau du taxi to adopt a code of conduct that guarantees clean cars, a courteous driver and a ban on refusing card payment!

At the same time, other sectors were disrupted by the arrival of tech companies that offered a new consumption model. The travel industry, for example, with online booking sites like Expedia or Booking.com. Or that of cinema and TV, with Netflix. But none has imposed itself with as much arrogance as Uber.

All of these tech companies are obviously out for our good, but in Uber’s case, they were willing to go to great lengths to get it…

To make its mark in this highly regulated industry, Uber broke the law. This gave rise to several confrontations with taxi drivers who saw their income melt away in the face of the growing popularity of the application. Demonstrations which have sometimes turned violent in certain European cities.

This is also what emerges from the Uber Files: the company knew that it was operating illegally and exploited violence against its drivers to obtain changes in the regulations.

When his aides warned him that Uber drivers could face violence if encouraged to protest, President Travis Kalanick replied, “I think it’s worth it. Violence is the guarantee of our success. »

When the taxman landed in one of the offices for a search, a call to the central of San Francisco allowed to put out of circuit all the computers. It happened in Montreal in 2015, when Revenue Quebec suspected that Uber was not collecting QST. A Superior Court judge said the maneuver “has all the hallmarks of an attempt to obstruct justice.”

When elected officials were reluctant to change their laws in its favour, Uber encouraged its users to be heard. “We used our users and our drivers as a weapon to tell the mayors: you see? That’s what your voters want,” says Mark MacGann.

Users who had been, as we recall, attracted by fabulous offers.

Except… it couldn’t last.

The fees collected by Uber from drivers eventually increased, making the business much less lucrative.

Many customers today pay the price for Uber’s supply-and-demand pricing. In case of rain, or in the middle of the night, a ride at the fare calculated by Uber can sometimes cost a lot more than a well-calibrated taximeter.

In a statement, the Uber spokeswoman acknowledged that the company had made “mistakes” and “missteps”.

Above all, Uber taught us a lesson. This should inspire legislators to intervene quickly, in the name of the common good, when a new actor imposes itself in defiance of the law.

Because mirages eventually dissipate.

And in the end, it is not necessarily the citizens who win.