Social justice drives new ride-dispatching service

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This article was published 28/03/2018 (2501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local human-rights advocates are rolling out a ride-dispatching service May 15 that may be unique in Manitoba.

The City of Winnipeg’s new taxi and ride-hailing bylaw made the option possible, said Michelle McHale, chief operating officer of Gozo Dispatch Inc.

The service is different from existing ride-hailing services for a couple of reasons, she said.

First, it isn’t designed for individuals to phone and order a taxi cab or arrange for a ride on an app: the service is for organizations willing to enter into contracts and book services ahead of time, with a down payment.

Second, Gozo has a set of standards inspired by its founders’ experience with social justice and activism.

The service is the brainchild of Uzoma Asagwara, who serves as CEO and co-owns Gozo with McHale.

McHale briefly threw her hat in the ring for the Manitoba NDP leadership last year. In 2016, she made headlines coast to coast for helping organize the first Pride parade in Steinbach. Hundreds of supporters descended on the southeastern Manitoba town for the inaugural march.

Asagwara is a nurse and public speaker, who founded Queer People of Colour Winnipeg.

“We want people to be able to access transportation and not worry about their safety… So organizations that support people who are vulnerable to discrimination or exploitation, we’d be a good option for them to consider,” McHale said.

The two reached out to Facebook-based service Ikwe (Women Helping Women) Safe Rides to train prospective dispatchers and drivers. They could include existing cabbies, limousine and ride-hailing service workers, as long as they pledge to abide by the service’s training standards.

“Gozo has zero tolerance around racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ageism, fat phobia or for discrimination against people who are not ably-bodied,” McHale said.

That goes for customers, too, she said.

“We’re projecting the first set of training will be mid-April,” Ikwe co-director Christine Brouzes said.

Ikwe set up its safe-ride app more than two years ago, after a number of Indigenous women went public with complaints about discriminatory or exploitive encounters in Winnipeg taxis. Ikwe has logged 47,000 rides since then.

“We’ve had calls from community organizations, non-profit groups, and we’ve been asked, ‘Can you give these people rides say three times a week for this period of time?’ Or, ‘Can you got to the airport for a group coming in for a conference?’ We can’t. We’re a Facebook ride-sharing service. Gozo, with it’s dispatch licence, can meet those requests,” Brouzes said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca