Bel-Air Taxi is pushing back against the city of Coquitlam’s call for the province to regulate ride share services so that companies like Uber can operate on local streets.
Shawn Bowden, a spokesperson for the cab company, told councillors Monday that it may not be possible to put rules in place that will level the playing field between taxis and ride share operators.
“I am telling you right now, [ride share companies] are not interested in regulations,” he said. “They are here to make their money and then to leave.”
Last month, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam councils both sent letters to the Ministry of Transportation asking the province to implement rules dealing with services such as Uber and Lyft.
Under the Passenger Transportation Act, ride-sharing is banned in B.C. despite the growing popularity of such companies — low-cost, smartphone app-based alternatives to taxis.
Bowden told The Tri-City News there are no examples anywhere in the world of companies like Uber conforming to the same government regulations to which taxis adhere.
In Metro Vancouver, for example, he noted that all cab drivers are insured up to $5 million and mechanical inspections must be conducted on vehicles every six months at the operator’s expense. They are also required to equip vehicles with $1,600 security cameras and training is required for all drivers at the Justice Institute.
“Can you regulate this?” he asked council. “The answer, I’ll be honest with you, is no. Maybe on paper you can, but not the multiple levels of regulation that we have to go through. We have staff just to make sure our regulation requirements are done.”
Unlike ride share companies, which often set prices based on demand, taxi fares are set by the province and cannot be changed. Cab companies also provide an important service for people who are disabled or in a wheelchair, he added, subsidized assistance that ride share companies either charge more for or do not provide.
“Fares are regulated and it is the same for every person,” he said. “Ride shares can discriminate.”
Several councillors noted the city is not endorsing a specific ride share company but simply looking for rules and regulations from the province to allow them to operate on city streets.
Coun. Terry O’Neill told Bowden that complaints about taxi service in the Tri-Cities are common and demand for cabs is not being met under the current regulatory framework.
“Maybe a ride share thing is a way of dealing with this,” O’Neill said. “Maybe the ride share will force the [taxi] industry to perform better… If you service the public better yourselves, there might not be a need for Uber.”
Taking a cab from downtown Vancouver to the Tri-Cities is difficult, O’Neill said, adding that many drivers will not take the fare and wait times are always an issue.
Bowden acknowledged the taxi industry has made mistakes and that work must be done to improve service.
“Do taxis have to step up their game?” he asked. “Yes we do. In the absence of competition, you do have complacency. Maybe this is a wakeup call, if anything.”
In Canada, Uber currently operates in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Edmonton, Quebec City, Calgary, southwestern Ontario and more than 40 other cities. It is also used in 350 cities in other countries.
The Tri-Cities are not the only communities investigating ride share opportunities.
In October, Vancouver city council passed a motion to have stakeholders such as ICBC, taxi and ride-sharing industries as well as tourism groups look at opportunities for the region; a report on their findings is due shortly.
Last fall, Langley Township council moved a resolution to lobby the province to relax the regulations around ride-sharing.
@gmckennaTC
