Vancouver okays a 30-cent-per-trip congestion fee for ride-hailing vehicles
Credit to Author: Matt Robinson| Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:10:32 +0000
Vancouver councillors have approved a plan to manage ride-hailing in the city, following extensive debate over key aspects of the proposal and a failed bid to refer the matter back to staff.
The contentious parts of the city’s approach include a 30-cent pick-up and 30-cent drop-off fee that the city saw as helping to manage congestion, and a $100 annual licensing fee for drivers.
The city has limited regulatory powers with respect to ride-hailing, with the province controlling most aspects of the industry, such as defining fleet size and operational boundaries, and setting vehicle standards. Vancouver only has the power to issue business licences and regulate street use and traffic, according to staff.
To help manage the latter, city staff developed a fee-based congestion and curbside management permit that includes pick-up and drop-off charges between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. within the core of the city. Zero-emission and accessible vehicles would receive discounts of 50 and 100 per cent of those fees, respectively.
Green party Coun. Adriane Carr questioned whether the city’s overall approach was in sync with its goal to replace vehicles with bikes, buses and pedestrians.
“More vehicles on the road is not the solution,” she said.
She also said she was concerned about the long-term impact on congestion, but ultimately supported the plan.
On several occasions, in response to questions and attempted amendments by councillors, staff said the regulations could be tweaked later after the city started to see how ride-hailing was working in its jurisdiction.
Vancouver city council debate the intricacies of ride hailing at a council meeting at city hall in Vancouver, Wednesday, October 2, 2019. Pictured is councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung (right).
City manager Sadhu Johnston said he would prefer the plan was referred back to staff rather than substantially altered on the floor, but cautioned that if the city did not move quickly, the industry would start to operate in an unregulated environment.
Michael van Hemmen, Uber’s head of Western Canada, said the company expected it would see fewer drivers in this jurisdiction than had been seen in others, and that those drivers would work longer hours, both due to the higher barriers for entry. Among other things, drivers in B.C. will be required to hold a Class-4 licence.
Van Hemmen criticized the $100 vehicle licensing fee. If other jurisdictions used Vancouver’s regulations as a template, drivers who operate across jurisdictions could end up paying hundreds of dollars in fees, he said.
Sophia Cote of Lyft called the $100 fee troubling and prohibitive, and she called for a more regional approach.
Sarah Kirby-Yung, with the Non-Partisan Association, was the only councillor to vote against the plan. She later told reporters she was excited for ride-hailing but did not support “a Vancouver-only” model that created impediments to people working across municipal boundaries.
Caitlin Anderson, speaking for the Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee, said she wanted to see the city advocate for access equity. She said the idea that caregivers with accessible vehicles would drive for ride-hailing companies in their limited spare time was “wishing on a prayer.”
Carolyn Bauer, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Taxi Association, said she applauded the curbside management system and said the $100 fee was reasonable.
In developing its regulations, the city met with representatives of Uber, Kater, Lyft, and TappCarr, as well as taxi companies and interest and advisory groups, staff said. To date, nearly a dozen ride-hailing companies have applied to operate in the region.