Delta set to join list of municipalities opposed to ride-hailing rules
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:33:26 +0000
Several municipalities in Metro Vancouver are lining up to oppose the Passenger Transportation Board’s policies around ride-hailing in B.C., calling them unfair and saying they will harm taxi companies.
But according to provincial guidelines, municipalities don’t have the authority to block ride-hailing companies from operating in their communities.
Late Monday, Delta council was set to vote on a motion from Coun. Lois Jackson to send a letter to the board asking the rules be suspended. Jackson also wanted council to send a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipalities asking that a vote be taken on ride-hailing at its upcoming annual conference.
At least one Delta councillor, Dylan Kruger, told Postmedia News he would not vote in favour of Jackson’s motion. Kruger said that it was not the role of any municipality to intervene with the board’s decisions. Delta Mayor George Harvey was also set to vote against the motion.
Legislation around ride-hailing came into effect on Monday, and the board has been accepting applications from ride-hailing companies that want to operate in B.C. since Sept. 3. As of last Wednesday, it was considering seven applications.
The Delta motion comes after White Rock council voted to send a letter to the board stating it opposed the ride-hailing rules that came into effect on Monday, asking they be rescinded until consultation with “municipalities, regional districts, public transit agencies, disabled persons’ advocacy organizations, and the public” has been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 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 held on whether it should send a letter to the board asking for the rules to be reviewed.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum wrote a letter to Premier John Horgan in August renewing his opposition to ride-hailing, and at a recent meeting of taxi operators said he will not grant any ride-hailing companies a business licence. The move would not, according to provincial rules, preclude them from operating in the city.
McCallum said in a statement last week that he is opposed to ride-hailing because the rules are different for taxis and ride-hailing, and create “an unfair market environment” that endangers the livelihoods of taxi drivers and their families. He said the regulations and restrictions should be the same for both.
It’s unclear whether the city will take any further action on ride-hailing.
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.
According to an email from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, provincial law restricts the authority of municipalities to regulate the supply and boundaries of taxi and ride-hailing services, and only the Passenger Transportation Board is authorized to establish rules in those areas.
When asked whether the municipalities’ appeals will spur action from the province, the ministry replied: “(Transportation) Minister (Claire) Trevena has heard the concerns of Mayor McCallum and other stakeholders and has written to the Passenger Transportation Board to relay their concerns.” The ministry was referring to a letter that was sent earlier this month.
Peter Tingling, associate dean at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, said municipalities speaking out individually against ride-hailing is unlikely to be effective.
“I think it’s absurd for the municipalities to try to regulate this when it’s clearly not in their ambit — it’s a provincial matter,” Tingling said. “I realize it’s a political hot potato and people want to be seen as doing things, but you clearly can’t have a jigsaw, patchwork approach to this type of legislation.”
While legitimate concerns have been raised, Tingling said municipalities would be better off spending their time on solutions that are within their power, such as working with taxi companies on ways to remain viable.
The Passenger Transportation Board presented its operating guidelines for ride-hailing on Aug. 19. This included zones they could operate in, 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.
Nine taxi companies have filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court to quash the rules. In particular, they take issue with the lack of a cap on the number of ride-hailing vehicles, and the ability for ride-hailing companies to set lower rates.
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.
— with file from Jennifer Saltman