Changes

Governments have tended to be more slow to accept ridesharing services, with many municipal governments having initially prohibited ridesharing platforms due to their non-compliance with rules put into place to govern traditional taxi companies. With the gradual recognition of their distinctive enterprise, ridesharing platforms have over time gained widespread acceptance by government and have become an acceptable form of transportation for employees of the government of Canada for many years (since 2016?).   

Governments have tended to be more slow to accept ridesharing services, with many municipal governments having initially prohibited ridesharing platforms due to their non-compliance with rules put into place to govern traditional taxi companies. With the gradual recognition of their distinctive enterprise, ridesharing platforms have over time gained widespread acceptance by government and have become an acceptable form of transportation for employees of the government of Canada for many years (since 2016?).   

[[File:TC Uber.jpg|thumb|With departmental ridesharing enabled, public servants are able to expense travel immediately at the time of purchase.]]

[[File:TC Uber.jpg|thumb|With departmental ridesharing enabled, public servants are able to expense travel immediately at the time of purchase.]]

In 2018, the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) became the first department to launch a departmental ridesharing option for its employees, specifically with Uber. This allows CSPS employees to use the Uber ride-hailing app not only to hail vehicles but also as a payment method, directly charging travel to the department. CSPS employees are able to use Uber to hail a ride and the details of the trip and bill are sent directly to CSPS financial services, who would then tally and analyze the patterns from the previous month, and pay Uber directly for the sum total of all departmental usage in the form of an invoice. From the perspective of a user, they are able to toggle their payment method from "Personal" to "Departmental" depending on the purpose of the trip, and require not additional work to expense this form of travel.   

In 2018, the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) launched a pilot ridesharing option for its employees, specifically with Uber. This allows CSPS employees to use the Uber ride-hailing app not only to hail vehicles but also as a payment method, directly charging travel to the department. CSPS employees are able to use Uber to hail a ride and the details of the trip and bill are sent directly to CSPS financial services, who would then tally and analyze the patterns from the previous month, and pay Uber directly for the sum total of all departmental usage in the form of an invoice. From the perspective of a user, they are able to toggle their payment method from "Personal" to "Departmental" depending on the purpose of the trip, and require not additional work to expense this form of travel.   

As the first department to use this service, CSPS imposed restrictions on the permitted usage of Uber in order to minimize risk. This included the limitation of the app's usage to working hours (7h00-18h00), the limitation of the fare to under $50, and the staggered roll-out of the app functionality throughout the department. For fares falling outside of these perimeters, it was still possible to use rideshare services but the employee would need to pay for them and expense the cost in the same manner as for regular travel.

As part of the pilot approach, CSPS imposed restrictions on the permitted usage of Uber in order to minimize risk. This included the limitation of the app's usage to working hours (7h00-18h00), the limitation of the fare to under $50, and the staggered roll-out of the app functionality throughout the department. For fares falling outside of these perimeters, it was still possible to use rideshare services but the employee would need to pay for them and expense the cost in the same manner as for regular travel.

Gradually more departments followed in CSPS's lead by authorizing departmental ridesharing and also steadily lowered the restrictions associated with the apps functionality as it became clear that the risks of abuse are marginal, or at least, significantly less than with existing systems. At the time of writing in early 2020, half a dozen departments and agencies have some measure of departmental ridesharing with Transport Canada being the largest user, having several hundred users being permitted the full functionality of the app.  

Gradually more departments followed in CSPS's lead by authorizing departmental ridesharing and also steadily lowered the restrictions associated with the apps functionality as it became clear that the risks of abuse are marginal, or at least, significantly less than with existing systems. At the time of writing in early 2020, half a dozen departments and agencies have some measure of departmental ridesharing with Transport Canada being the largest user, having several hundred users being permitted the full functionality of the app.  

=== Advantages of Ridesharing for the GC ===

=== Advantages of Ridesharing for the GC ===

Ridesharing platforms offer benefits to users and the institutional GC alike. Ridesharing platforms offer greater convenience to users, more accessibility features for people with disabilities, the ability the schedule rides in advance and better plan out travel, share to location with teammates, reduce wait times for vehicles and to provide greater clarity in directions to drivers. Users are also able to leverage promotions from frequent usage across personal and departmental payment methods offering a perk somewhat akin to travel points, and similarly garner a higher quality of driver if they themselves maintain a high rating, with members of the Transport Canada pilot roll-out anecdotally noting a higher level of professionalism among drivers.

Ridesharing platforms offer benefits to users and the institutional GC alike. Ridesharing platforms offer greater convenience to users, more accessibility features for people with disabilities, the ability to schedule rides in advance and better plan out travel, share to location with teammates, reduce wait times for vehicles and to provide greater clarity in directions to drivers. Users are also able to leverage promotions from frequent usage across personal and departmental payment methods offering a perk somewhat akin to travel points, and similarly garner a higher quality of driver if they themselves maintain a high rating, with members of the Transport Canada pilot roll-out anecdotally noting a higher level of professionalism among drivers.

From an institutional standpoint, departmental ridehailing platforms are significantly less onerous on departmental finance departments, eliminating tasks that are time-intensive and tedious while freeing up time for more complex or urgent job functions. Departmental ridehailing platforms offer much greater accountability, showing the exact route, time and cost per ride, and offering the availability to rapidly identify variations that might indicate misuse. Preliminary research from CSPS and Transport Canada suggested an overall cost-saving of roughly 40% compared to the medallion (taxi chit) system which is the default used in the government of Canada, which tends to cost more per ride while charging an administration fee on top of each fare.

From an institutional standpoint, departmental ridehailing platforms are significantly less onerous on departmental finance departments, eliminating tasks that are time-intensive, costly and tedious while freeing up time for more complex or urgent job functions. Departmental ridehailing platforms offer much greater accountability, showing the exact route, time and cost per ride, and offering the availability to rapidly identify variations that might indicate misuse. Preliminary research from CSPS and Transport Canada suggested an overall cost-saving of roughly 40% compared to the medallion (taxi chit) system which is the default used in the government of Canada, which tends to cost more per ride while charging an administration fee on top of each fare.

Departmental ridesharing also offers greater opportunities for ongoing digital transformation and can permit new downstream functionalities once deployed. This is because departmental ridesharing takes a process whose information byproduct comes in the form of boxes of isolated and non-integrated paper slips about past trips and replaces it with a fully digital system which can offer insights about usage patterns and offer alternatives for future practices. For instance, this information can be used to inform future transit services, the availability of alternative modes of transportation (like bikes or scooters), opportunities for systematically reducing the GC's carbon footprint and costs, or even inform real-property considerations over time. Digital transformation and departmental ridehailing are in essence complimentary endeavours.   

Departmental ridesharing also offers greater opportunities for ongoing digital transformation and can permit new downstream functionalities once deployed. This is because departmental ridesharing takes a process whose information byproduct comes in the form of boxes of isolated and non-integrated paper slips about past trips and replaces it with a fully digital system which can offer insights about usage patterns and offer alternatives for future practices. For instance, this information can be used to inform future transit services, the availability of alternative modes of transportation (like bikes or scooters), opportunities for systematically reducing the GC's carbon footprint and costs, or even inform real-property considerations over time. Digital transformation and departmental ridehailing are in essence complimentary endeavours.   

   [[File:TC Uber Guide.png|thumb|

   [[File:TC Uber Guide.png|thumb|

The Transport Canada user guide for departmental ridesharing, specifically for Uber. This can be a helpful tool for those looking to make their own departmental user guides, or just to navigate the process itself.

The Transport Canada user guide for departmental ridesharing, specifically for Uber. This can be a helpful tool for those looking to make their own departmental user guides, or just to navigate the process itself.[[:File:UBER_USER_GUIDE_(TC).pdf]]

]]Successful deployments to date have been marked with several key criteria:   

]]Successful deployments to date have been marked with several key criteria: