EZRide co-owner says company will take a ‘hit’ if Uber comes to town

Chris Morris wants the City of Sault Ste. Marie to ‘really think’ about the long-term impacts if Uber decides to further expand to the Sault after moving into northeastern Ontario

EZRide co-owner Chris Morris is worried that Uber will negatively impact other transportation services in town if the rideshare company eventually comes to the Sault.

Earlier today, Morris posted to the Facebook group Support Local Sault Ste. Marie and Area to express his concerns about Uber, which is expanding to Greater Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay after the province announced the return of the Northlander passenger train service in May.

In his post, Morris implored Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and the City of Sault Ste. Marie to “really think” about the impact Uber would have upon small businesses like EZRide, after Shoemaker told SooToday earlier this month that the municipality wants to be “considered in future expansion plans.”  

“Small business support is what we need here, and allowing Uber to come into town will heavily affect multiple small businesses,” Morris said in the social media post.

As it stands now, Uber is permitted to operate in Sault Ste. Marie under the city’s Vehicles for Hire bylaw. 

Morris told SooToday that while the public may think the arrival of large rideshare companies will result in more competition and lower prices, smaller companies like his will “end up taking a hit.” 

“We have to operate so we can at least maintain the cost of the business, whereas they can afford to operate for months at a loss if it means in the future it’ll be better for them,” Morris said. 

EZRide has made it a point to buy local, as the rideshare company’s smartphone app, website and promotional materials are all supplied by local businesses. 

“It has a domino effect, right? If our business gets hit, then so do those other smaller businesses,” Morris said.

That domino effect would also impact how EZride sponsors local sports like the Soo Jr. Greyhounds and the Soo Pee Wee Hockey League, Morris added.

“If supporting local goes away, it’s those little things that will be affected as well,” he said.

Morris worries about what will happen if the Northlander Rideshare Pilot Program — which paved the way for Uber to expand to northern communities — is successful.

“If this pilot project goes well, and they decide to change the ruling and take the authority of who gets a license in each city from each municipality and give it to the province, by doing that companies like Uber and Lyft will have free range to go into these smaller cities,” he said. 

– with files from Brandon Walker and Chris Dawson