London Students Support Uber

Dear London City Council,

As post-secondary students studying and living in London, we use Uber to get to and from class, home from bars on Richmond Street, and in other Canadian cities like Waterloo, Toronto, and Hamilton, all of which have passed by-laws that enable the continued operation of ridesharing and Uber.

On February 14, we know that London City Council will make final decisions with respect to a new ridesharing bylaw. Unfortunately, after initially deciding against a requirement for cameras in the personal ridesharing vehicles of Uber drivers, you changed your mind, and Council is now requiring them. As Uber has made clear, this requirement would force them to shut down operations in London. We understand that no other city in Canada or the world has required cameras in ridesharing vehicles.

As students, Uber is an affordable and reliable service. In fact, we feel that riding in an Uber is safer than taking a taxi. We receive information about our driver and can anonymously contact him or her before entering the vehicle, we can rate our Uber driver and our experience instantly via the Uber app, easily report any issues to Uber, and share our GPS-based route in real-time with friends and family.

In addition, as students, we know that ridesharing services like Uber are changing the way students think about drinking and driving. By providing a reliable ride at the push of a button—no matter the time or place—Uber is helping students to make better, safer choices.

As The Gazette, the student newspaper of Western University, noted, “In 2014, many incumbents from city council were turfed and replaced with younger politicians who were seemingly more forward thinking”. We know this Council to be progressive and we hope that you will make the right decision for students who use the Uber service for a safe, more affordable and reliable option.

David Itkin, Western University
Andrew Williams, Western University, President of climbing club
Nick Thompson-Persaud, Western University, President – UWO Creative Writing Club
Amaara Dhanji Western University, VP Communications – UNICEF
Jayme Dodge, Fanshawe College, Fanshawe Student Union
Supriya Behl, Western University, President of Free the Children Western
Florence Zhang, Western University, President of The Chinese Students’ Association
Arien Tahir, Western University, President, Kurdish students association
Jessica Lee, Western University
Mimi Ujiri, Western University, VP Communications- African student association
Erin Li, Western University, Chinese Cultural Games Club
Carlie Forsythe, Fanshawe College, Fanshawe Student Union President
Aleksandar Djuric, Western University, President, UWO Serbian Society
Dale Inverarity, Western University
Alex Glista, Western University
Yi Xu, Western University
Laura Grenon, Western University
Graham Volk, Western University, President of the Transitional Justice Club
Harry Leo Orbach-Miller, Western University, Chair of the Western Student Senators and Senator at Large
Jamie Cleary, Western University, University Students’ Council Vice-President
Victoria Lee-Kim, Western University, Vice President Academic- Science Students’ Council
Chris Robertson, Western University