Tales of the ridiculous – PickupPal gets slapped

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It has been well covered today, and I am guessing it is going to hit the mainstream press tomorrow. PickupPal, yet another carpooling site, seems to have been the straw that tickled the legal team at the bus companies.

They were fined $11,000 and now have to restrict their service inside of Ontario to almost nothing. There is an old (well, not that old) law in Ontario that defines what a “carpool” is and it basically forces you to drive with your neighbor Joe to work, everyday, and you are only allowed to pay him once a week.

A bus company sued PickupPal based on this law and won.

This case is very simple to me: Greedy bus companies and a meddling government. Bus companies need to innovate and they are either too cheap or too scared to do it. The funny thing about this is that they have now given so much free press to PickupPal that I have no doubt people will be flocking to the site.

PickupPal is not the only startup here that is dealing with endless beaurocracy and regulatory silliness. I hope they continue to take a stand.

Comments

16 responses to “Tales of the ridiculous – PickupPal gets slapped”

November 12, 2008

Christopher Pyper

This is absolutely stupid. Looks like the judge is just interpreting some obscure old law on the books. I think once the Premiere Dalton Mcguinty or the Ontario Minister of Transportation Jim Bradley get a hold of this it should be corrected. Regardless, this probably could have been fixed with some cautionary language on their site, not a $11,000 fine.

As for the bus company, I would really like to know which one it is so I never use them again. What an abuse of power.

Reply
November 12, 2008

Christopher Pyper

This is absolutely stupid. Looks like the judge is just interpreting some obscure old law on the books. I think once the Premiere Dalton Mcguinty or the Ontario Minister of Transportation Jim Bradley get a hold of this it should be corrected. Regardless, this probably could have been fixed with some cautionary language on their site, not a $11,000 fine.

As for the bus company, I would really like to know which one it is so I never use them again. What an abuse of power.

Reply
1. November 13, 2008
  
  Dan
  
  The bus company in question would be Trentway-Wager.
  
  The nice thing about web businesses though, is that it makes them very easy to operate in a place where laws don’t prohibit such a thing…
  
  Reply
  1. November 13, 2008
    
    Dan
    
    Ugh, make that Trentway-Wagar, and it looks like they run Coach Canada as well.
    
    Reply
November 13, 2008

Husein

Love it! Disruptor of an existing business model. Using technology to side-step the capital requirements required to launch a “transit business”.

Wouldn't this be a great iPhone app (BB funding) – find rides…hitchhiking Web 2.0 style? This could even hit the taxi oligopoly.

Reply
November 13, 2008

Husein

Love it! Disruptor of an existing business model. Using technology to side-step the capital requirements required to launch a “transit business”.

Wouldn’t this be a great iPhone app (BB funding) – find rides…hitchhiking Web 2.0 style? This could even hit the taxi oligopoly.

Reply
November 13, 2008

Anonymous

Much as I'm a big fan of innovation, the laws governing buses are probably there for good historical reasons. I think in this case they're probably going too far, but it's a little hyperbolic to say that this is the result of “Greedy bus companies and a meddling government.” You are entirely neglecting whatever reasoning went into the creation of the laws (safety? reliability? environmental concerns? road maintenance? insurance?), and just jumping to an extreme conclusion.

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November 13, 2008

Anonymous

Much as I’m a big fan of innovation, the laws governing buses are probably there for good historical reasons. I think in this case they’re probably going too far, but it’s a little hyperbolic to say that this is the result of “Greedy bus companies and a meddling government.” You are entirely neglecting whatever reasoning went into the creation of the laws (safety? reliability? environmental concerns? road maintenance? insurance?), and just jumping to an extreme conclusion.

Reply
November 13, 2008

Barry Welford

Oh what a story just the week after the USA nominates a President-elect who will continue to go with the grassroots leadership approach that has served so well. Of course it's the Internet. Perhaps that bus company just doesn't get it. Oh Canada. 🙁

Reply
November 13, 2008

Dan

The bus company in question would be Trentway-Wager.

The nice thing about web businesses though, is that it makes them very easy to operate in a place where laws don't prohibit such a thing…

Reply
November 13, 2008

Dan

Ugh, make that Trentway-Wagar, and it looks like they run Coach Canada as well.

Reply
November 13, 2008

Barry Welford

Oh what a story just the week after the USA nominates a President-elect who will continue to go with the grassroots leadership approach that has served so well. Of course it’s the Internet. Perhaps that bus company just doesn’t get it. Oh Canada. 🙁

Reply
November 14, 2008

Alex Frakking

This law was likely aimed at illegal taxi operations (just a guess)… should be easily amended. Can't blame Coach Canada; just doing their job really.

Reply
November 14, 2008

Alex Frakking

This law was likely aimed at illegal taxi operations (just a guess)… should be easily amended. Can’t blame Coach Canada; just doing their job really.

Reply
November 18, 2008

Great Idea: Penalize Carpoolers – Derek Hatchard blogs on

[…] StartupNorth) You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, […]

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November 18, 2008

Great Idea: Penalize Carpoolers – Derek Hatchard blogs on

[…] StartupNorth) You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, […]

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