Welland transportation company staying in lane of the law

The greatest difference between Loyal Transportation and speedy cab operations in Niagara is that the local company has spent the time and money to become a legitimate operation.

Since March, after about a year-long process of going through the Niagara police services board and securing a willing insurance provider, the Welland-based company has been delivering people to their destinations across the peninsula — abiding by the laws that apply to the transportation industry.

They spent $5,000 to receive a licence, which will need to be renewed after their first 12 months in business, on top of seeing all their nearly 30 drivers go through background and vulnerable sector checks by police.

Last month Niagara Regional Police police issued a statement about illegal cab companies known to be on roads in the region, having cracked down on six groups who are not permitted to be providing service locally.

When police opened its bylaws in 2016 to allow larger transportation network companies such as Uber set up shop, Loyal Transportation’s Jake LaFrance and Brandy Gray decided to also apply for certification.

Other than Uber and 13 taxi companies providing rides across Niagara, Loyal Transportation is the only one of its kind that has been given the green light to conduct its business.

It is permitted to put 99 drivers in cars across the region and are required to pay 11 cents per call to

police as a result of its authorization.

Accepting passengers through roadside hailing is not permitted, and all communication with customers must be documented electronically, mostly through the smartphone application PickmeApp. This creates records of each trip made and also means customers are sent a receipt once the ride is over.

On top of what each driver pays on their own personal insurance policy, their business will have paid roughly $2,400 at the end the first fiscal year when commercial and rideshare coverages are factored in.

This figure will increase as more drivers join the team, as

recruiting employees is also a goal.

“We’d really like to get more drivers from around the region,” said Gray, also explaining the business is open to accepting applications from people currently working for illegitimate companies.

Operating on a flat-rate pricing plan across Niagara, LaFrance said two dollars per call goes to the company and the rest ends up in the pocket of the driver.

He also said his company is not allowed to pick up passengers in taxi stands and that drivers “will be gone immediately” if this is reported back to head office, also claiming his operation isn’t trying to “step on the toes” of traditional taxi companies.

With speedy cab groups not having to go through the same vetting process, this is a major

concern for LaFrance.

“They are actually endangering the public,” he said.

Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations in Ontario for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said laws in the province are pretty relaxed when it comes to a situation involving a passenger of an illegal speedy cab being injured in an accident.

“You’d be surprised.

“The Ontario insurance policy is actually very generous,” he said.

If you have your own policy or are covered by your spouse’s or parent’s plan, you will be protected, he said.

“If you’re injured in another vehicle, then you claim under your own policy,” said Karageorgos.

However, if the driver of an

illegal transit provider is injured, the rules are “not as generous” and their policy can either be dropped by a provider or reduced to the minimal coverage of $200,000.

Insurance companies also don’t like finding out about its customers not disclosing that they are driving their personal vehicle as a taxi with an unlicensed outfit.

Traditional cab companies with commercial policies, which vary based on providers’ size of fleet, and a number of other factors such as driver history and the number of claims made, pay significantly more than those in the ridesharing lane.

Karageorgos said this is because drivers with transportation network companies have what he referred to as a “hybrid policy,” whereby their vehicles are used for both work and personal use.