Council approves recommendations to regulate for-hire vehicle services

CTVnews.ca
Nov 16, 2015
By Colleen Schmidt

City council has directed administration to draft bylaw amendments to allow for-hire car services like Uber to legally operate on city streets.

Uber launched its service in Calgary last month and a number of drivers were issued tickets after they were told that they were not complying with city bylaws.

Calgary’s Taxi and Limousine Advisory Committee held a special meeting last week and reviewed five options to try to find a compromise to allow the ride-sharing service to operate in the city.

On Monday, it will took its recommendation to council and the mayor said he was hoping to get the issue resolved.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation out there and I have to say that Uber hasn’t really been very good about sharing the whole story. Here’s the deal. Nobody is allowed to drive without insurance. I’m not allowed to do it, you’re not allowed to do it, Uber drivers are not allowed to do it. Uber has known they’ve got an insurance problem for many, many months. They’re working on it, there is a product that is awaiting approval before the regulator now, they chose to launch anyway. That’s like a home builder, building a bunch of houses and then asking you to retroactively change the fire code to say that they’re safe and that’s not how it works, and in fact I’m shocked that Uber today simultaneously sent a note to their supporters saying tell them to pass it today while sending us a note saying please delay it for four or five months cause we’re not ready yet,” said Mayor Nenshi.

Nenshi says that Calgarians need good choices and that the city is open to new technology but that it has to be safe.

“There’s no way we are allowing cars that don’t have proper insurance on the road,” he said. “The regulatory environment that we’re being asked to look at today is one under which Uber has operated very happily in many, many jurisdictions. It’s the right thing to do, it’s the right environment, I’m just surprised that Uber themselves seem to on the one hand ask for regulatory environment, on the other hand, ask for a delay, and on the third hand, because they seem to have three of them, say that council is somehow stopping them from doing what they want to do which is not true at all.”

Nenshi says council will look at parameters for a regulatory environment to ensure drivers of for-hire services have a proper driver’s licence, proper insurance, and vehicle safety checks.

“So if we get that environment in place, we can pass that bylaw quite quickly, probably as early as next month. We do have to work out the licence fee and a few things like that but the real issue is that that insurance product is awaiting regulatory approval from the province, hopefully that will come quickly,” said Nenshi. “I’m talking about a new kind of insurance that has worked well in other jurisdiction, which is something in between your personal insurance, which is invalid if you open the Uber app as a driver, and full-on commercial insurance that an actual full-time licensed taxi would have and these things exist in lots of different environments, in New York and in California, for example. Drivers have to have the insurance, they have to have a full livery driver’s licence. I think that’s legit."

Nenshi says Uber has been talking to the city for almost two years about operating here and that the city will continue to work on its to-do list to move that forward.

The city approved the recommendations from Administration on Monday afternoon and it will bring amendments back to council for consideration by mid-February.

The city says the amendments will provide a hybrid open/controlled entry system that levels the playing field for TNCs, taxis and limousines.

Private for-hire vehicles will be able to operate under the new system if there is appropriate vehicle insurance and if the drivers meet specified training, security and licencing requirements.

The city has applied for an injunction to temporarily stop Uber drivers from operating until the requirements are met and a hearing is scheduled for Friday.