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Vancouver mulls easing restrictions on suburban taxis


Vancouver councillors are worried it will be hard to enforce a policy that lets some, but not all, suburban taxis pick up downtown fares on weekends.

Metronews.ca
Oct. 20, 2015
By Emily Jackson

Vancouver councillors are worried they won’t be able to enforce the rules if they ease restrictions on a few dozen suburban taxis.

Council questioned on Tuesday a staff report that recommends approving licences for 38 suburban cabs to operate in the busy downtown entertainment district when nightclubs empty on Friday and Saturday nights.

The new licences would allow drivers from places including Surrey to pick up passengers on their way back to the suburbs, a practice that is currently prohibited to limit competition for Vancouver taxis.

Staff recommended two methods to enforce the new, slightly looser rules. Spot checks by city or provincial inspectors and police and GPS tracking of which cab picks up where could be used to levy fines. Suburban cabs that receive licences would have their GPS monitored by the city, said Andrea Toma, director of licensing.

But Vision Vancouver councillors Geoff Meggs and Raymond Louie questioned how the city could stop suburban cabs from picking up passengers outside the designated hours or in general.

“I believe there are many more than 38 suburban cabs operating illicitly in the city,” Meggs said, calling it a “huge concern” for taxi owners because it undermines the value of their assets.

Louie questioned whether there are enough resources to increase enforcement.

The 38 licences are part of a wider report that recommends expanding the taxi service. The city took the extreme step of hiring a mediator to participate in consultation with stakeholders including the Vancouver Taxi Association and suburban taxi companies.

The report was expected to make a recommendation on ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, but it held off. Instead it recommended working with the province and other municipalities to come up with a regional solution on how to deal with Uber.

The public will have a chance to comment on the changes on Oct. 29 before council makes its final decision.