There has been a heated debate in our city about ride-sharing for over a year now. With tempers flaring over how and if Uber should be on our streets, it seems that conversation rarely turns to the many faces of Uber, the people in our city who rely on ride-sharing both to get where they need to be and to earn an income. Uber has a huge impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people right here in Ottawa that use Uber, and I'm one of them.

My name is Josh Williams. I grew up in Ottawa, have lived here my whole life and have so much love for this city and the opportunities it brings. I have been a stand-up comedian for seven years -- to me, there is no better feeling than getting up on that stage night after night and making people laugh. But around my shows, it's also important for me to earn some extra money which is why, since last summer, I have been supplementing my income as an Uber driver right here in Ottawa.

With Uber comes the freedom and flexibility to earn money whenever works best for me, around my schedule. That means that when I get the call to do a show tomorrow night, I don't have to worry about someone covering my shift or angering my boss. I'm my own boss, and to me that is absolutely vital in terms of allowing me to continue to pursue my passion of making people laugh. Since I started driving with Uber, I've had offers of 9-5 jobs, but I can't go back -- I need the flexibility to continue doing what I love.

I have had many jobs in my life where customer service has been front and centre -- I've been an electrician, I've worked for telecom companies and hotel chains. I pursued those jobs because I love interacting with people and working hard to bring them the best possible experience. That's what drew me into stand-up comedy. That's also why Uber is such a great fit for me. People of all walks of life get into my car and share their stories. And I share mine and my love and knowledge of our great city. The Uber model brings people together and challenges existing industries to work harder to provide better service, and that is something that we all benefit from.

So why does my story matter? In the coming weeks, our mayor and city councillors will be voting on new ride-sharing regulations. And as our city moves toward regulating this industry, it's important to take into account the thousands of local Ottawa residents like me driving every day in our city. Not only do we help everyone get where they need to be safely but as we earn, we're contributing more to our community and local economy as well. And that is just another reason why I love to drive and serve this great city.

Josh Williams is a stand-up comedian and an Uber driver in Ottawa.