Waterloo Region's vehicle for hire bylaw slowly rolling out

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 26, 2017
By Paige Desmond

Regional officials continue to work their way through implementation of a new vehicle for hire bylaw that is shaking up the local ride for hire industry.

Kris Fletcher, the region's director of council and administrative services, said there are still some issues to work out.

"There's lots of firsts trying to do this and I think there's been lots of co-operation on all sides in order to try and get this done," she said.

The region has received driver information for local Uber drivers and has started receiving the same information for RideCo drivers.

Already, some trends are emerging with the local Uber scene.

Fletcher said the approximately 2,300 local Uber drivers appear to be casual, part-time drivers. Some days, when bylaw officers are out doing enforcement they might not even encounter one, she said.

"They're certainly doing more on the weekends than what they're doing during the week so they probably do fill in more for peak periods," she said.

Susie Heath, Uber spokesperson, said the region is sent updated information as new drivers register.

"Since Waterloo regional council passed the new bylaw in September, we have been working closely with staff to implement the requirements of the new regulations," she said. "Regional staff have been great partners and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we provide safe, reliable rides, flexible earning opportunities and new transportation options to the people of Waterloo Region."

With regard to taxis, Fletcher said the region is still reviewing which drivers meet the new criteria and how to evaluate drivers who have been suspended.

"There certainly are concerns about the new driver criteria and the application of those criteria particularly when they've been out on suspension," she said. "We're trying to work through some of those issues and I don't have a resolution for that at this point in time."

Under the new rules, all drivers must meet a set of criteria to be licensed.

The rules are more strict than the previous taxi bylaw. At least five taxi drivers have been identified who no longer are eligible for taxi licences because they don't meet regional standards.

Cab companies also want to be able to issue licences directly to drivers, which is permitted under the bylaw, and sorting out how that will work is taking some time.

Right now, there are about 380 taxi licence owners and between 800 and 900 taxi drivers, Fletcher said.

Staff will report back to council in a year, and possibly sooner if needed, on possible tweaks to the bylaw.

The two major changes between the old taxi bylaw and the new rules are the addition of ride-hailing apps and the criteria drivers must meet.