Uber Canada commissioned Public First to better understand and quantify the impact they were having on Canadians and the Canadian economy. In particular, the research focuses on riders and consumers, drivers and delivery people and communities. The report can be downloaded here. 

Key findings

• Overall economic impact: Uber Canada unlocked an estimated $6.5bn in economic value for the Canadian economy in 2020. Canadian Uber users say that ride sharing is the second most significant transport innovation they have experienced in the last decade, behind only smartphone apps.
• Consumers: In a normal year, Uber saves riders a total estimate of 13m hours per year in Canada, with 82% riders saying that convenience is an important reason they use Uber. 59% of Uber Eats users also agreed that food delivery apps helped to improve quality of life while eating out was restricted.
• Drivers and delivery people: In total, drivers earn an estimated additional $216m per year in higher income through Uber. 75% of drivers and delivery people say they are satisfied with their experience using the Uber app, while 89% say flexibility is important to them when looking for work.
• Community impact and safety: Supporting communities through Covid-19, Uber Eats alone created an estimated $570m in additional value for restaurants in 2020. 81% of woman-identified riders say that safety is an important reason in their choice to use Uber.

Methodology 

For this report, Public First used a mixture of methods including:

• Nationally representative polls and province-based polls for Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
• An anonymous survey of over 3,000 drivers and delivery people.
• New quantitative models using data provided by Uber Canada and from Statistics Canada.
• A new literature review of independent academic research.

The findings from this report have been featured in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.