MORE TAXIS ROLLED OUT
Extra cabs have hit the road to meet a 20-per-cent surge in seasonal demand
Vancouver taxi companies have added nearly 100 vehicles to their weekday service under temporary permits to cope with the December rush.
“That’s in addition to the 175 new licences the government granted last spring, so we have about 860 cars on the road,” said Carolyn Bauer, spokeswoman for the Vancouver Taxi Association. “Last year, at this time, we were operating about 700 taxis.”
There are 99 extra cars on the road that normally operate on Friday and Saturday nights, but the government has created a broader permit that allows companies to add capacity at the busiest time of year. Business increases by about 20 per cent in December.
“We have full authority to operate those vehicles from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning for the entire month of December, seven days a week,” she said. “Even then there are times — on those rainy Friday nights — when we can’t meet all the demand.”
December puts particular pressure on cab companies, said Mohan Kang, president of the B.C. Taxi Association.
“There are more parties, more shopping,” he said. “It’s a busy, busy time for us so we must be prepared physically and mechanically to ensure the cabs are in proper order, and we need to make sure that drivers are not fatigued or it becomes a safety issue.”
Taxi firms are waiting to see if or when the provincial government will allow global ride-hailing giants such as Uber and Lyft to operate here. Thousands of unregulated amateur drivers flooding the market would devastate the cab industry, Bauer said.
The fledgling NDP provincial government had promised to legalize ride-hailing services by the holiday season. That timeline has been pushed to late 2018 as Premier John Horgan’s consultant Dan Hara completes a review of the issue due to wrap up this month and opinion is sought by the legislature’s committee on Crown corporations.
“We just need a fair and level playing field,” Bauer said. “Our insurance premiums just went up 6.5 per cent to $30,000. We would never be able to compete with an unregulated fleet.”
Even without the ride-hailing giants doing business in B.C., there are lots of drivers working on the sly, mainly through illegal ride-hailing apps such as Richmond-based, Chinese-language Udi Kuaiche.
The ministry of transportation confirmed several ride-hailing firms are under investigation. Drivers are subject to fines of $1,150 and penalties for failing to disclose commercial use of their vehicle to their insurers.
The Passenger Transportation Branch has issued more than 20 cease and desist orders to vehicle owners and 11 violation tickets to drivers to date.
A number of drivers also advertise on classified ad sites such as Kijiji, but how many is uncertain.
“The only reason I’m doing this work is because I lost my job after 27 years with the same company,” said independent driver Steve Porter (not his real name), who has a Class 1 commercial driver’s licence. “I saw ads for people doing it and I thought I would do it, too.”
There are dozens of ads offering home pickup and rides to the airport and to ferry depots. Most drivers will give an estimate by text based on your address and destination, but the competition is fierce and customers usually seek multiple estimates.
“I don’t get more than a few fares a week, there are too many other people doing it,” said Porter. “I’ve been looking for work, for a good company with benefits, but in the meantime I have no other income, so this is how I buy my groceries.”
But even if big players such as Uber get permission to operate in B.C., he would likely get out of the business altogether.
“I don’t want to run my vehicle into the ground for nothing and the money you get paid isn’t much,” he said.
“It’s a busy, busy time for us so we must be prepared physically and mechanically to ensure the cabs are in proper order ...” — Mohan Kang