Article content

Tuesday’s much-anticipated vote at Toronto city council on ridesharing isn’t simply about deciding how best to regulate Uber and taxis. It will tell us if Toronto sees itself as a modern, confident city that’s willing to adopt new technologies, new businesses and new ways of doing things, or a place where timid, stale politicians retreat in the face of special interest pressure and fear of change.

Uber is a compelling story. It has opened our eyes to an affordable, convenient and customer-friendly transportation option. In a very short time, Uber has empowered 15,000 people to earn much-needed income by opening their personal automobile to 500,000 individual riders in Toronto alone. They will be watching the vote very closely.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Tim Hudak: Toronto's Uber vote is about more than just ridesharing Back to video

But Toronto’s decision regarding Uber goes well beyond that. It will be a preview of what is in store for the next sharing-economy apps that find themselves on council’s agenda. The core issue is whether we trust ourselves to make informed choices based not on what government tells us is good for us, but on what our friends, neighbours and perfect strangers have to say. It’s about whether public decision makers should view this phenomenon with suspicion, or as a kind of revolutionary change to make cities run better and helps solve problems that government has failed to solve on its own.