St. Catharines joins region in call for ride-sharing legislation

Councillors ask for level playing field

Niagrathisweek.com
Jan. 26, 2016
By Scott Rosts

The City has joined the Region in calling on the province to develop ride-sharing legislation.

On Monday night councillors unanimously approved a motion by Coun. Mat Siscoe to express support for the Region’s recent request for the province to develop ride-sharing legislation. The region passed a motion on the issue on Jan. 14, and there are currently two provincial bills on ride-sharing in the works at Queen’s Park.

Siscoe said the sharing economy is rapidly growing, particularly ride-sharing apps such as Uber, which started operating in the region in mid-November, and Blancride.

“Apps are increasing in popularity and changing the way consumers choose regulated services,” he said, noting Uber is now operating in 40 different municipalities representing more than 75 per cent of Ontario’s population.

The problem is, said Siscoe, that the apps are operating across municipal boundaries, helping add to confusion amongst consumers, law enforcement and regulators thanks to what he described as a “patchwork of local frameworks”. He called on the province to initiate engagement with municipalities, as well as taxi companies, limousine services, insurance companies, law enforcement, consumers, ride-sharing companies and drivers.

“The idea is to level the playing field but also provide greater consumer choice,” said Siscoe.

That means not only looking at the ability for individuals to make money through ride-sharing, but also ensuring there is consistent consumer protection and public safety standards for all drivers, including ride-sharing insurance, driver qualifications and vehicle requirements. The motion also called for recommendations to help ease the regulatory burden on taxis and limousines, to allow them to compete fairly for customers.

“Work with ride sharing, but also the taxi companies ... . I think the province now needs to look and create that framework across the province,” said Siscoe. “Ensure things are being run the way they should be ... they’re not being run that way now.”

The motion follows the City’s endorsement of ride-share services a couple of months ago. The motion, approved on Nov. 30, included a request to the Niagara Regional Police Services board, which issues taxi licences, to find ways to level the playing field for traditional taxi companies. At the time, Siscoe cited the ride-sharing apps as an alternative to taxis to help solve the issue of dispersing crowds from the downtown core at night.

Mark Molnar, a taxi driver, told council Monday night that the traditional taxi industry also wants fairness and would look forward to regulatory reviews.

“These are taxi companies running openly illegal in Niagara,” he said of ride-sharing apps like Uber.

A motion like the City’s, he said, is “a great step in the right direction” and will hopefully address the “distinctly different” regulations throughout the province.

“We want to see a level playing field - everyone following the same rules,” said Molnar.

“It has to go to a higher level with constitutional authority to stand up to some of these new entries to the market,” said Coun. Bruce Williamson.