The Uber app is displayed on an iPhone as taxi drivers wait for passengers at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on March 7, 2017.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The B.C. government says it won’t fulfill its election promise to allow ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft until the fall of 2019, a delay of more than a year that the province says it needs to modernize taxi service to create a more level playing field.
Those steps, outlined in a report by taxi industry expert Dan Hara and released on Thursday, include increasing the number of cabs on B.C. roads by 15 per cent and allowing taxis to offer discount fares when trips are booked through an app to match ride-hailing practices.
“We know that people are frustrated and have been waiting far too long for a solution to the lack of transportation options that are available,” Claire Trevena, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, said on Thursday in Vancouver.
“We wanted to make sure we’re adding, not taking away, from good, local jobs while laying the foundation for a made-in-B.C. solution to bring in a new form of ride-hailing so people can move around how they want, when they want, safely.”
The BC NDP had promised during the 2016 spring election campaign that it would allow ride-hailing services by the end of 2017. That was later pushed back to the fall of 2018, and now “by fall, 2019.”
Ridesharing Now for BC – a coalition that includes the BC Restaurants and Food Services Association and the Surrey Board of Trade, among others – said it was “extremely disappointed” by the latest delay and said the time to allow the services has long passed.
Ms. Trevena rejected a characterization by a reporter that B.C. was “so far behind.”
“I wouldn’t say that we’re far behind the times at all,” the minister said. “We are doing things in a very methodical way to ensure that we have safety for the people of B.C., for those who are looking for a ride as well as those who are offering a ride.”
The 15-per-cent increase to cab fleets recommended by Mr. Hara amounts to about 300 more cabs in the Lower Mainland and 200 more through the rest of the province. He also recommends a managed taxi supply that can be expanded at a pace that offers some protection to those who made big investments in taxi licences.
A fee per trip for new taxis – paid by the company and not the customer – would ensure that a new taxi “does not enter the market unless growth in consumer demand is sufficient to make the new taxi profitable,” the report states. An overlap in provincial and municipal jurisdiction could also be amended to allow taxis more permissive rules on return trips.
It also suggests establishing a provincial authority to issue chauffeur permits for taxis “to close a jurisdiction gap where, at present, taxi drivers in small and rural communities may not be required to pass criminal record checks.”
The report noted that following the introduction of such services in other major cities, the combined number of taxi and ride-hailing trips increased. Calgary, which requires full public reporting, found combined taxi and ride-hailing trips rose by 26 per cent after one year of licensed ride-hailing operations.
Calculations based on partial data from Toronto suggest a 48-per-cent increase in total trips after two years of ride-hailing in that city, while calculations from Ottawa indicate a 75-per-cent boost in total trips after one year.
Iain Black, president and chief executive of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, viewed the announcement as another unnecessary delay for ride-hailing services.
“There is absolutely no reason for this [delay],” Mr. Black said. “We continue to be an international embarrassment when visitors come to our city.”
B.C. Taxi Association president Mohan Kang said that the suggestions contained in Mr. Hara’s report seem to be positive but that he will need time to review the details with his board.
Andrea Woo