Car pooling site shut down by bus company

A WEB SITE designed to help punters reduce their carbon footprints by car sharing has been shut down by a competing bus company.

Trentway Wagar, took PickupPal to the Highway Transport Board after complaining that the ride-matching service fell afoul of the province's obscenely strict ride-sharing laws. True it also nicked most of its customers but Trentway Wagar was not going to tell anyone that.

As a result PickupPal owes (CAN) $2,836.07 to the province and another (CAN) $8,500 to Trentway Wagar.

Nanny State Ontario penned a law in the 1970s about public ride services in order to keep its citizens safe. PickupPal's web sites serves as a matchmaker for drivers and passengers, allowing them to work out compensation and other issues. However the site does not require checks on insurance, roadworthiness of the vehicles, or driving history.

Trentway Wagar said it is unfair that it has to meet labour, environmental, and equipment standards to haul passengers around when services like PickupPal can arrange rides without doing any of that.

PickupPal operates in 52 countries and says it has not faced such a challenge anywhere else. Public perception of Trentway Wagar is that it is not so much interested in safety standards as it is in shutting out the competition. µ

L'Inq
Ars Technica