Traditional cab companies in Toronto have to carry a few different types of insurance, including liability insurance and commercial insurance. This is part of the reason that they have to charge what they do, as each ride helps pay for some of that coverage.
However, UberX is a transportation services that, rather than being set up like a standard cab company, uses contract workers as drivers. These workers use their own vehicles. The company does not have the pricy commercial insurance policies that cab companies must carry. They do still have liability coverage in case someone is injured, though, which has a max of $5 million.
Despite this, the coverages are causing a controversy. Cab companies are complaining that UberX is able to undercut their prices because they don’t have to pay for the commercial coverage. This keeps their costs low and their prices lower. Cab companies have more bills to pay, so they have higher rates.
What it means is that the low-priced UberX is able to take rides away from cab companies, and the cab companies don’t really have any way to compete, at least according to them. The passengers, after all, just care about the low prices. They are still covered by liability insurance, and they seem more willing, in many cases, to go with the cheapest option, rather than one that also has commercial insurance.
If you’re injured while riding in an UberX vehicle, be sure you know how the liability laws work, how the insurance works and what legal steps you can take to get compensation for any of your injuries.
