Irregularities in taxi-plate lottery were the result of ‘human error,’ KPMG says

A review into the city’s 2017 taxi plate lottery triggered last February after one driver’s name appeared twice on the list of winners, has determined that “human error” was behind the irregularities.

A handful of problems in the selection process for the release of more than 200 new taxi plates was identified in the third-party review conducted by KPMG, the city said in a release late Monday evening.

“The review found no evidence that would suggest the process issues were the result of malicious intent by any city staff member to purposely exclude applicants from the process, give any individual a greater opportunity for selection, or otherwise impair the fairness of the selection process in general,” the city said in a statement. “The process issues were the result of human error.”

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Tuesday it was the city’s own audit process that revealed the human error.

“The city handled the aftermath very, very quickly,” he said. “We very quickly hired experts in the field to tell us how to fix it.”

KPMG identified the following irregularities in the selection process: five applicants were excluded from the draw when their ballot cards didn’t make it into the selection drum; one applicant — who should have been excluded based on previous selection in 2014 or 2015 — was permitted to enter the draw; two applicants were permitted to submit applications despite having already previously applied, and therefore had two ballots each inadvertently entered into the selection drum.

“The city is committed to a fair selection process for all applicants,” said Richard Hinse, acting director of Calgary community standards in a statement. “We sincerely apologize for the errors caused by the 2017 selection process.”

City council has directed administration to honour eligible winners selected in the January lottery on the advice of KPMG.

Another recommendation from KPMG that the city will adopt is the hire of a third-party service to conduct a supplemental lottery to give the five excluded applicants the chance to receive a plate or be placed on the contingency list.

Supplemental draws will also be held to expand the current contingency list.