St. Catharines supports Uber and changes to taxi industry

Stcatharinesstandard.ca
Dec. 1, 2015
By Karena Walter

With concerns there aren’t enough cabs at night, St. Catharines councillors have endorsed the operation of “ride share service providers” like Uber in the city.

But council also recognized a need for a level playing field for traditional taxi companies in its motion Monday night.

It is requesting the Niagara Police Services Board - which issues taxi licences - find ways to level that playing field.

“There’s been an entrenched system with respect to taxis and the way taxis are regulated and the way ride sharing has been dealt with in the past and that has to change now,” said St. Patrick’s Coun. Mat Siscoe.

Siscoe made the motion to endorse the operation of Uber in the city, after his previous motion on Oct. 5 was referred to staff for a report on the service.

Uber has since announced it’s operating in Niagara with drivers on the road in November.

Siscoe said an affordable alternative to taxis would aid in more quickly dispersing downtown nightlife and help combat issues related to impaired driving.

The taxi industry is over-regulated to a certain extent because the number of licences for cabs are restricted, he said. Previous motions attempting to get more cabs in the city or have ones from outside St. Catharines come in during busy times haven’t met with success outside city hall.

“It’s been very difficult to try and get those changes made. We’re run into a lot of opposition,” Siscoe said. “I’m hopeful this is going to force the situation a little bit.”

Siscoe said he was hopeful the police board will find a middle ground.

The motion was changed from endorsing “Uber” to endorsing “ride share service providers” after fellow St. Patrick’s Coun. Mark Elliott said it’s not council’s place to support an individual business.

Elliott agreed council should look at and encourage the police board to look at how it can change taxi services in the city and region.

“It’s clear that our current taxi restrictions and the way we licence is inadequate for our city’s needs and I think it’s time that we start making change,” Elliott said.

Grantham Coun. Sandie Bellows said it’s clear the current system is broken.

As a parent of two adult boys who go out downtown, she said she doesn’t mind getting phone calls late at night and early in the morning to pick them up. But there are other kids who rely on taxis.

“When I’ve got kids swarming my car offering me $100, $150 to get them home, clearly there’s not enough service out there,” Bellows said. “I don’t want my children or any others having to wait two or three hours for a cab on the street. It’s not safe.”

Problems getting cabs aren’t just downtown.

Coun. Carlos Garcia recalled complaints he heard from the Port Dalhousie Business Association when people had difficulty getting cabs at 11 p.m. and later after its Halloween pub crawl.

“I certainly will support looking at any service, ride sharing and otherwise, that will help that situation,” he said, “so that people can get home and are not in a position where they have to drive themselves after drinking or trying to find somebody at that time of night.”

Mayor Walter Sendzik said the city can’t be punitive on the current taxi system.

“The people that are employed in the current taxi system in Niagara are impacted by having a ride sharing program like Uber that isn’t as regulated as the current taxi system, he said.

He said there needs to be a levelling of the playing field, which was added to the motion.

The police board has said Uber will be treated the same as a standard taxi service and must have a licence to operate in the region. It must also comply with insurance requirements established in its licencing by-law.

Niagara’s largest cab company Coventry Connections, which owns Central Taxi, has said there must be a level playing field. Its company has to pay high insurance for drivers and can’t set it own rates for service.