Ride-sharing stuck at a red light
Independent report expected next year will lack input from Uber, Lyft
B.C.’s NDP government has launched an independent review into ride-hailing services, without consulting companies like Uber and Lyft, that focuses on helping the province’s existing taxi industry remain viable.
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said industry expert Dan Hara will study taxis and ride-hailing in the province and submit a report in “early 2018.”
“His recommendations will help us deliver a made-in-B.C. approach to ride-sharing. It will help keep people safe and provide more choice and convenience for people across British Columbia,” Trevena told reporters Monday.
But Hara’s terms of reference exclude him from engaging with ride-hailing companies. The government directive tasks him with only completing “a comprehensive consultation with the taxi industry, local governments, consumer and business interest groups” that will allow the government to “consider changes to modernize the existing industry in a way that allows the taxi industry to remain viable and compete on equal footing should additional passenger-directed vehicle services, such as commercial ride-share, be introduced in B.C.”
A list of stakeholder groups Hara must consult includes three taxi associations, municipalities, First Nations, airport operators, harbour authorities, tourism groups, the seniors advocate, police chiefs, and organizations representing the disabled and blind communities.
Uber expressed immediate concern it was shut out of the review. “It is important that every voice be heard including the general public and ride-hailing companies, which are not currently on the list of groups to be consulted,” the company said in a statement.
Lyft, which has hired the NDP’s former provincial director to lobby the government on its behalf, said in a statement it appreciated that the new government dedicated resources to the ride-sharing issue.
Trevena’s ministry sought to explain the exclusion of the relevant companies.
“Government has received considerable information from ridesharing companies to date and will gather additional information from other service providers, including commercial ride-share operators like Uber and Lyft, as part of a final report that will be presented to the public in spring 2018,” spokesman Ryan Jabs said.
The ride-hailing issue is politically problematic for the NDP government because the party promised during the May election to protect traditional taxi industry jobs threatened by the arrival of companies like Uber and Lyft. The Liberals lost seats in Metro Vancouver ridings like in Surrey, where taxi drivers came out in support of the New Democrats.
B.C.’s taxi sector praised the NDP for a review Monday that focused on their needs. “I believe it is the right step in the right direction to move forward,” said Mohan Kang, president of the B.C. Taxi Association.
The taxi sector has no problem with ride-sharing as long as the new companies meet appropriate safety standards and there is “an even playing field,” Kang said.
The previous Liberal government promised a fair system in a March proposal to allow companies like Uber into the province, but it was opposed by the taxi industry. The Liberals had suggested giving ride-hailing companies per-use insurance, and loosening driver’s licence restrictions, as well removing geographic restrictions and a cap on traditional taxi licences. Taxi drivers complained the change would devalue their licences, some of which had been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Trevena said the review by Hara would allow her government to potentially bring in legislation in the fall of 2018. That timeline means the NDP will break a campaign promise to have a plan to allow ride-hailing services in the province by the end of 2017.
“It’s a very reasonable approach to look at what we have now before we rush into the next steps,” Trevena said.
She defended the delay, saying no one has properly studied the issue. However, Hara was hired in 2015 to conduct a similar report for the City of Vancouver, which Trevena said she had not yet read.
While it offered ideas to consider rather than recommendations, the 2015 report said some taxi drivers would “face ruin” if rule changes eliminated the value of their taxi permits.
But it also said once the number of taxis is limited, regulators tend to fall behind in adjusting the cap to reflect growing populations and increased demand.
“Existing taxis become busier at the expense of longer customer wait times at peak periods,” the report said.
Liberal critic Jordan Sturdy said it was disappointing to see the NDP miss a promised deadline, because the public wants to see ride-hailing companies, while communities in rural B.C. without a taxi business could get a needed service.
It’s a very reasonable approach to look at what we have now before we rush into the next steps.