Mississauga no closer to finding workable solution between Uber and taxis

mississauga.com
June 21, 2016
By Rachael Williams

A Mississauga committee tasked with finding a compromise between taxis and Uber are no closer to finding a solution than they were a year ago.

On Tuesday, City staff presented committee members with a list of 10 points that could be used to guide the discussion for the creation of a yearlong pilot project that would see the co-existence of transportation network companies (TNC) such as Uber and taxis.

This is the committee’s second time meeting since it’s inception.

After three long hours of discussion, committee members couldn’t even get past the first point: “define the purpose of the TNC pilot program”.

Mickey Frost, the City’s director of enforcement, said this has been a major problem since the launch of the committee.

“This committee needs to come to terms with what is the pilot project and what we’re trying to test,” he stressed.

In May, council approved the creation of a pilot project to allow companies like Uber to enter the marketplace legally and compete with traditional taxis. Since then, there’s been very little movement in determining how this pilot project will look.

Uber public policy manager Chris Schafer noted, there are fundamental differences between the business models of taxis and TNCs.

“You’re effectively trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” he said.

While both offer essentially the same service, there are vast differences in how the two operate including pricing, response time, drivers’ work hours, insurance, vehicle inspections and licensing.

At the request of Mayor Bonnie Crombie, two City of Toronto staffers who dealt with TNCs were brought to Mississauga to explain how they were able to manage the new entrants in its ground transportation industry.

“It was one of the most difficult things we’ve ever went through,” said Tracey Cook, executive director, municipal licensing and standards for the City of Toronto.

Measures approved by Toronto council in May include: allowing private transportation companies (PTCs) to operate with a $3.25 minimum fare, no maximum fares and surge peak-time pricing; allowing taxis to adopt surge pricing for rides booked via smartphone app; maintaining requirements for taxis to have cameras and emergency lights, but not PTCs; ensuring PTCs and taxis have insurance of at least $2 million; and conducting thorough driver background checks.

“You’ve thrown the taxi industry to the wolves,” said taxi industry representative Mark Sexsmith to Cook.

Sexsmith said, on behalf of the taxi industry, he would like to see the City update its bylaws to allow taxi drivers to accept orders over any platform, including the use of TNC apps at the TNC fare rate.

"Let's face it, if Uber didn't offer cheap prices, they'd be out of business in a week," he said.

Keeping in place the bylaws surrounding vehicle inspections, driver background checks, insurance and licensing, Sexsmith said public safety and security would be maintained while serving the needs of Mississauga residents.

With a June 29 deadline looming for the pilot program to be in place, committee members scheduled another meeting for June 27 at 10:30 am in council chambers.