Fines up for cabbies, fares
Deadbeat riders face $ 1,000 penalty; failing to keep log could hit drivers
Taxi fare evaders could soon be whacked with a $ 1,000 fine after a city council committee approved a raft of new penalties for both customers and cabbies.
Community and protective services members approved fines for riders who skip out of paying the fare ($ 500 to $ 1,000) or tamper with installed security cameras ($ 200 to $ 700).
Cabbies who fail to maintain a log book or avoid less lucrative calls by pretending they’re unavailable, for example, could be hit in the wallet with fines ranging from $ 200 to $ 1,000.
Calgary police or the city’s Livery Transport Services would levy the fines, which still require council approval.
Coun. Diane Colley- Urquhart, who chairs the community and protective services committee, said the $ 1,000 fine for evaders was too steep for her liking and may not make it through council at the July 29 meeting.
“I have never been advised that fare evasion is a huge problem and that drivers are really missing out on their fares,” Colley- Urquhart said. “I don’t know what problem we’re trying to fix here.
“When you compare it to other fine structures that we have, come on, I think it’s really too high,” she added. “I don’t know if that will get support at council.”
The committee also approved a recommendation to delay the release of 57 new taxi licences because of a slowdown in Calgary’s economy as well as the addition of hundreds of new cabbies this year.
In their report, city administration and the taxi and limousine advisory committee say total fare revenue remained consistent during the first quarters of 2014 and 2015.
However, that revenue is being shared with an additional 480 new taxi drivers and a six per cent drop in overall trips during the same period.
Cab fares went up 8.1 per cent last year, but the committee and TLAC recommended the rate not be changed this year.
“Due to the influx of drivers into the system ( cabbies saw) roughly a 20 per cent decrease overall in their business,” said Mario Henriques, chief livery inspector.
Henriques said fare evasion is currently dealt with through criminal charges, a process he called cumbersome and burdensome.
“We can deal with this issue relatively quickly through a bylaw offence,” he said. “That’s the purpose of this amendment ... to deal with it as efficiently and effectively as we can.”
Council committee members raised some concern over cab drivers rejecting customers because the trips are too short, but said the number of complaints was very small during the Stampede.
Henriques encouraged passengers to note the taxi licence number and report the incident through the city’s 311 line.
“We will deal with that driver,” he said. “They are subject to suspension, revocation of their licence or a fine.”
I have never been advised that fare evasion is a huge problem and that drivers are really missing out on their fares.