LIFT THE CAP ON TAXIS

There are calls to release more taxi licences in Calgary, but it’s questionable whether the city should continue to maintain such a tight rein on the industry in the first place.

Later this week, the city’s taxi committee will consider a report recommending that 68 new licences be made available, in addition to the 250 approved last year that have yet to be released. That would allow for 1,977 cabs to be on the road, a figure the report says aligns with Calgary’s population.

“In order for the taxi industry to be able to fairly compete under the new bylaws ... immediate release of the balance of previously approved taxi licences in 2015 is necessary,” writes Associated Cabs’ and Allied Limousine’s Roger Richard in a letter that accompanies the report.

“The taxi industry will not be able to compete on a fair and level playing field without an adequate supply of taxi licences.”

The city has been ham-handed in its oversight of the taxi industry and has recently struggled to find the middle ground when crafting rules that would allow riding-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft to enter the market and provide Calgarians with greater choice and affordability.

The solution is to insist that drivers and their vehicles meet the public’s expectations for safety and comfort, and then get out of the way, leaving it up to the free market to decide how many cars are required to serve Calgarians’ for-hire transportation needs.

The city would have to monitor the number of vehicles available for Calgarians with disabilities, but there’s no reason to think the industry wouldn’t cater to their specialized demands — it’s possible a company could see a competitive advantage here.

Strict regulation is necessary when it comes to prescription drugs and other products that have a strong possibility of affecting the public’s well-being. That cannot be said of the taxi industry, no matter how much the city might enjoy the ability to tinker with the regulatory levers that determine whether there’s too many cars on the road or too few.

Appropriately, the city isn’t setting limits on how many ride-sharing companies can compete for customers. Given that fact, why does it insist on doling out taxi plates in such a tight-fisted fashion? The controls are an anachronism that can safely be relegated to the past, much like rotary dial telephones and manual typewriters.

The debate isn’t about how many taxi plates are needed to serve our growing city, but why they’re needed at all.