Uber expanding to southwest Ontario, offering 4 free rides until Sunday

Residents in several southwestern Ontario communities can start using Uber on Thursday, and the ride-hailing service is offering them free rides to try it out.

Cabbies have been up in arms about Uber and not all communities have embraced the service.

Uber says the expansion will make the service available to more than 1.4 million Ontarians.

“UberX is our low-cost, ridesharing option – connecting you with on-demand transportation”, an announcement on the Uber website said.

The ride-sharing company, that connects customers and drivers through a smartphone app, is already in 300 cities across Canada including Toronto – despite attempts to block it by that city’s council.

Uber will officially hit the streets in London within a matter of hours.

Opponents also say Uber’s drivers don’t face the same rigorous background checks as taxi drivers and often don’t have the appropriate insurance coverage.

According to a release, “This screening process includes a National Criminal Record Check, searches of local police databases and a thorough review of motor vehicle records as well as a vehicle inspection”. Present in over 25 communities in Canada, Uber offers more than 15,000 Canadian driver partners a new way to earn a living in their spare time by offering a more affordable transportation alternative to hundreds of thousands of riders across the country.