White Rock joins list of municipalities opposed to ride-hailing rules
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 04:36:45 +0000
White Rock has thrown its weight behind a push by some municipalities to have the Passenger Transportation Board review its policies around ride-hailing in British Columbia.
Last Friday, White Rock council voted six-to-one in favour of sending a letter to the board stating it opposes the ride-hailing rules that come into effect on Monday Sept. 16, asking they be rescinded until consultation with “municipalities, regional districts, public transit agencies, disabled persons’ advocacy organizations, and the public” has been undertaken.
In particular, White Rock council does not believe ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft should be able to operate an unlimited numbers of vehicles and not be required to offer wheelchair accessible vehicles. The city is also sending a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipalities asking that a vote be taken at the upcoming UBCM annual conference (Sept. 23-27) on whether a letter should be sent to the transportation board asking for the rules to be reviewed.
The move comes after the City of Richmond voted on Sept. 9 to ask the provincial government to look at the discrepancies between rules governing taxis and those governing ride-hailing. Surrey mayor Doug McCallum is on the record stating he will not grant any ride-hailing companies business licences to operate in his city, while on Monday the City of Delta will vote on a motion from councillor Lois Jackson calling on council to send a letter to the board asking the rules be suspended. Jackson also wants council to send a letter to the UBCM asking that a vote be taken on ride-hailing.
At least one Delta councillor, Dylan Kruger, will not vote in favour of Jackson’s motion.
On Sunday night, Kruger said that it was not the role of any municipality to intervene with the Passenger Transportation Board’s decisions.
“I’ll be voting against the motion. It shouldn’t be coming anywhere near a council table because I don’t think it’s within our jurisdiction as a municipality to have these conversations. I’ll also vote against it on behalf of any every Delta or Metro Vancouver resident who has ever been passed up on a cab fare before because they had to go too far, or had to pay in cash, or had to wait 30 minutes to get a ride.”
Kruger said that he had a lot of respect for Jackson, and that he was part of the Achieving for Delta slate that won five seats on the seven-seat council (including Jackson). He said Delta mayor George Harvey was also likely to vote against the motion.
“I think it will go down,” he said.
The Passenger Transportation Board presented its operating guidelines for ride-hailing on Aug. 19. This included zones they could operate in, that drivers need a Class 4 professional licence, that there would be no limits on fleet numbers and no upper limit on how much the companies could charge. Before that, the board consulted with Vancouver taxi companies, the Vancouver Port Authority, Vancouver Airport Authority, Uber and Lyft.
The taxi companies that have asked the Supreme Court of B.C. to quash the rules are particularly upset that there are no limits on the ride-hailing fleet, that the boundaries of operation are wider than for cabs and that ride-hail cars can charge whatever they want during busy times.
Premier John Horgan is on the record telling the Vancouver Taxi Association that he will support the industry to “minimize negative effects on the taxi sector” from the introduction of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has issued a statement that municipalities cannot prevent ride-hailing companies from operating in within their boundaries.
The Passenger Transportation Board “is responsible for the regulation of taxis and ride-hail vehicles,” the statement read. “The board has sole responsibility to control supply, boundaries and rates.”