Delta council to vote on motion opposing Uber and Lyft
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 03:04:06 +0000
Longtime former City of Delta mayor and current councillor Lois Jackson wants her colleagues to back a plan to suspend the introduction of ride-hailing in B.C.
On Sept. 16, at the regular meeting of City of Delta council, Jackson will present a motion opposing the ride-hailing rules introduced by the Passenger Transportation Board on Aug. 19. Jackson will also ask that an emergency resolution be presented at the Sept. 23-27 Union of B.C. Municipalities conference calling for all municipalities to oppose the regime of rules that she believes are unfair to existing taxi companies.
The move comes as Surrey mayor Doug McCallum has promised there will be no ride-hailing in his city, and as taxi drivers pursue legal action to override the set of rules introduced by the board.
Taxi drivers are particularly upset with the rules that limit where they can drive, while ride-hail cars can cover a wider area, that there will be an unlimited number of ride-hailing cars, while taxi numbers are limited, and that ride-hailing operators will be able to charge what the market will bear during busy times.
In Jackson’s motion she also points out that taxi companies are legally obliged to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleet, while ride-hailing companies are not. The motion states that the Passenger Transportation Board did not consult with municipalities, regional districts, public transit agencies or disability groups when they came up with their rules.
Staff at the City of Richmond have also recommended that the city ask the provincial government to look at the discrepancies between rules governing taxis and those governing ride-hailing. The recommendation was approved by council on Sept. 9.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure issued a statement that the City of Surrey could not prevent ride-hailing companies from operating in within its boundaries.
Jackson is one of seven persons on council. In last October’s municipal election Jackson was one five elected that ran under the Achieving For Delta banner.
Globally, ride-hailing is dominated by Uber and Lyft. In April, May and June this year, Uber lost $5.2 billion, while Lyft lost $644 million – both off increased revenues.