Taxi firms condemn new B.C. ride-hailing rules
Companies can have unlimited fleets in a wide operating area
VICTORIA — Ride-hailing companies like Lyft can put unlimited numbers of vehicles on B.C. roads and charge customers higher surge pricing during busy concerts and sporting events, under provincial rules released Monday.
The unrestricted fleet sizes also come with huge operating areas, meaning drivers can pick up and drop off passengers in a new Metro Vancouver region that stretches as far as Lilloeet, through Squamish and Whistler, across the Lower Mainland and up the Fraser Valley.
Traditional taxis, set to face stiff new competition from the global ride-hailing companies, will remain confined to smaller municipal borders such as Vancouver, Surrey and Richmond.
The rules released by B.C.’s independent Passenger Transportation Board are the last step before ride-hailing companies can begin applying for licences on Sept. 3. Lyft cars should be on the road later this fall, at least in Metro Vancouver. Uber, the other large company in the sector, has not said yet if it will operate in B.C.
The taxi sector was swift in condemning the rules.
“The government has broken its promise to the taxi industry that it would be treated equally with ride sharing companies,” said the Vancouver Taxi Association’s Carolyn Bauer. Lawyers for the association sent the board a letter Monday demanding it reconsider.
“We are also requesting an urgent meeting with the premier to understand why his government is reneging on its commitment to an equal playing field,” she said in a statement.
The NDP government asked the independent board to set the rules. The ride-hailing issue is fraught with political considerations, including the NDP’s promise to protect the traditional taxi sector in the last election and the powerful taxi lobby’s control of significant votes for the NDP in the key electoral battlegrounds of Vancouver and Surrey.
Reaction from the government Monday appeared to indicate political unease.
“We are concerned in particular about the cap on the fleet size,” said Solicitor General Mike Farnworth. “We think that’s something that we would have liked to see, a cap in place. … I would like to see, once the data is at the PTB, that they revisit that decision.”
The board decided to allow unlimited fleet sizes and surge pricing because they are key elements of the ride-hailing business, said chair Catharine Read. Municipal boundaries in Metro Vancouver were too small for ride-hailing companies, she said.
The board set the minimum charge for ride-hailing to match the taxi flag rate — $3.25 to $3.95 in Metro. Companies like Uber and Lyft will not be allowed to offer discounts as they do in cities such as Toronto, but they will be allowed to charge higher prices, said Read.
Taxis will retain exclusive rights to pick up passengers near Canada Place in Vancouver when cruise ships are in port.
“We’re actually quite thrilled,” said Peter Lukomskyj, Lyft’s B.C. general manager. “Although we’d hoped for an all-province boundary, the boundaries are quite reasonable.”
The B.C. Taxi Association said it was “very concerned.” President Mohan Kang said he wanted a pilot project that would start with a low cap on the number of ride-hailing drivers and expand only if necessary. “Once you give them something, you can’t take it back,” he said.
But Kang ruled out a taxi strike. “We are there to serve the people and earn their goodwill. If we are going to put them in such an awkward position ... what sort of message are we giving them?”