B.C. Liberals calling for taxi boundaries to be consistent with ride-hailing zones
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 23:18:48 +0000
The B.C. Liberals have come out in support of taxi drivers who want their operating areas to match those that are being put in place for ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
“As Vancouver becomes the last major North American city to get ride-hailing, it is time to take a look at our transportation networks as a whole, scrap antiquated taxi boundaries, and enter the 21st century,” said Richmond-Queensborough B.C. Liberal MLA Jas Johal.
Johal and others have accused the NDP of failing to keep their promise to create a level playing field for taxi and ride-hailing companies.
However, the province’s transportation minister said decisions about operating areas, along with fleet sizes and rates for ride-hailing companies, rest with the Passenger Transportation Board.
“The Passenger Transportation Board is an independent body. We do not direct what they say, and would not want to. I think it’s very good to have a regulated market in the way that we have a regulated market,” Claire Trevena said.
The board divided the province into five operating areas for ride-hailing: Lower Mainland/Whistler, the Capital Regional District, the rest of Vancouver Island, Okanagan-Kootenay-Boundary-Cariboo, and the rest of B.C.
While ride-hailing companies will be able to operate in large areas, existing boundaries for taxis remain in place. This means taxis will still only be able to pick up passengers in smaller areas that approximate municipal boundaries, and “dead-heading” — in which drivers can drop off passengers outside of their operating areas, but not pick up new ones — will continue. The desire to avoid dead-heading is a major reason drivers refuse long trips.
“The traditional boundaries that define where taxis can and can’t operate are outdated and don’t represent our modern need for an integrated transportation network for a growing population,” said Johal.
The B.C. Taxi Association, which represents taxi operators outside of Vancouver, said last week the ride-hailing borders are “too vast” and will limit taxi drivers’ ability to compete. However, the Vancouver Taxi Association would rather keep boundaries so taxis from other areas can’t pick up in the city.
Trevena said there is no way to please everyone on the boundary issue.
“It’s divisive. We have, within taxi industry itself, some parts of the industry want to keep boundaries, other parts of the industry don’t want boundaries,” Trevena said. “I think it’s something that the Passenger Transportation Board will be looking at. We continue to talk with the industry about it. We want to make sure that it is done right.”
The board declined to put limits on ride-hailing fleet sizes, but said it may review the issue when performance data is available.
The Vancouver Taxi Association was outraged by the board’s decision, saying the province had broken its promise of an equal playing field for taxis and ride-hailing companies, and that Vancouver would be “in total gridlock” with the extra ride-hailing vehicles on the road.
The B.C. Taxi Association said the passenger transportation market will be flooded.
The lack of a limit was also a concern for Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth, who said last week he would have preferred to see “a reasonable cap” on ride-hailing vehicles and wanted the decision on fleet size to be revisited in four to six months. Surrey-Panorama NDP MLA Jinny Sims also urged the board to review its decision.
Trevena said congestion is a concern she shares, and she is confident the Passenger Transportation Board will do a review once enough data has been collected. She said the province can make suggestions to the independent body, but she has not made any kind of formal request for policy reviews or changes.
“I think it would be premature right now to say it’s a disaster because we just don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “This is not the end of the story.”
On the issue of rates, the board based the minimum rate for ride-hailing on taxi flag rates in an operating area. For example, the flag rate is $3.25 to $3.95 in Metro Vancouver. Discounts will not be allowed, but “surge pricing” will.
“While we are seeing attempts to try to bring some form of ride-hailing into B.C., there has been no attempt by the government that we can see to try to modernize the 1950s regulatory regime around the taxi industry, and I think that’s where you’re seeing that whole conflict winding up,” said Kamloops-North Thompson Liberal MLA Peter Milobar.
“The premier had promised that there would be a level playing field. There isn’t.”
Trevena disagreed, citing the requirement for Class-4 drivers licences for ride-hailing drivers and the awarding of extra taxi licences as ways the NDP worked with the industry.
“There are different approaches, but when we say we’re levelling the playing field, it doesn’t mean it’s exactly the same approach for the two different industries,” said Trevena. “I think maybe that is what has disappointed some people. They anticipated it would be exactly the same approach, but they are two different industries.”
Ride-hailing companies can submit applications to the province to operate in B.C. beginning Sept. 3, and those applications will be forwarded to the board for consideration.
In a statement, Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum reiterated his stance against ride-hailing in general, and said the new rules around boundaries and fleet sizes will “negatively impact the existing taxi industry, which has loyally served Metro Vancouver’s residents for decades.”
He has sent a letter to Premier John Horgan outlining his concerns.
— with file from Rob Shaw