With a variety of transportation options now available city-wide since Uber drove back into town earlier this month, one local bar manager hopes it will translate into a busy New Year’s Eve.
“I'm hoping that with live entertainment … we're busy, and with the options of taxis, (Steer) and Uber that people will decide, ‘Hey, let's go out,’” said Studabakers Beachside general manager Jen Harvey of tonight's New Year’s Eve festivities.
Restaurant and bar owners in Orillia had previously expressed concern about wait times for local transportation services. It was a double whammy as the city had been blacklisted by Uber while staffing levels at local taxi services struggled to keep up through the pandemic.
Then, in late November, Able Taxi, one of the city's largest, suddenly shut down, making a bad situation worse.
Harvey hopes the arrival of Uber will give residents greater access and confidence in local transportation services.
“I feel a lot of people didn't come out because they couldn't get cabs, or it was a two-hour wait for a cab,” Harvey said. “In the past, I've gone to council with Uber and … I've done a million interviews fighting to get Uber here, so it's nice to have it.”
She said she has been letting customers know Uber is now an option in the city.
“I'm excited to start using Uber now in Orillia,” Harvey said. “I try to push it as much as I can with customers, and we'll have to start doing some advertising stating that we have Uber – some people don't even know yet.”
Keerthana Rang, Uber’s corporate communications lead, said there has been strong demand for the service since its Orillia launch in mid-December.
“Orillia residents and visitors have shown that there is a strong demand for this safe, affordable, reliable citywide option to request trips to get them where they need to go, when they need to,” Rang told OrilliaMatters in a statement.
Rang said residents should exercise patience as wait times will likely be higher than normal on New Year’s Eve.
“We continue to urge patience from riders as we expect wait times to be higher than normal due to winter weather and strong demand on New Year’s Eve,” she said.
When asked, Rang did not share the current number of drivers Uber has in Orillia, but said the service is always open to new drivers.
“We always need more drivers signing up to use our platform. Interested drivers can visit drive.uber.com to learn more about driving with Uber,” she said.
