A regional licence for ride-hailing has yet to be introduced in Metro Vancouver, but it’s possible you may already be able to get a lift in New West.
On Jan. 30, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation released today the details of an interim inter-municipal business licence bylaw for ride-hailing companies wishing to operate in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Squamish-Lillooet regional districts and urgedmunicipal governments to adopt the proposed bylaw as soon as possible. Under the inter-municipal business licence bylaw, ride-hailing companieswould be able to obtain one licence to operate, instead of having to get separate business licences for each municipality.
“The cities have worked really collaboratively over the past month-and-a-half. That framework is now going to go to each individual council to decide whether they want to participate but I am expecting the vast majority of cities to support the regional framework, and potentially all of the cities in Metro Vancouver will join in,” Mayor Jonathan Cote told the Record. “I think there has been a lot of good work on all the cities' parts to try and work together, and I think it’s a far better system than the patchwork system that was going to be developed and will actually give the cities in the region a far better position to help manage ride-hailing in the Metro Vancouver region.”
Cote, who chairs the Mayors’ Council, expected staff to bring a report and recommendation to New Westminster city council in the next month.
“Right now, New West actually doesn’t have any regulations in place. That does mean that ride-hailing companies can operate in the City of New Westminster under the provincial regulations,” he said. “It is possible that ride hailing could be happening in the City of New Westminster, but as soon as the city decides to join the regional ride-hailing, companies would be required to be part of that system to be able to operate in the city.”
On Jan. 23, the Passenger Transportation Board approved Uber and Lyft to operate ride-hailing services in the Lower Mainland and Whistler areas.
“I don’t know whether there is any operating but there is nothing right now that would restrict them from doing so. They wouldn’t be in violation,” Cote said. “New Westminster took the position that we didn’t want to put anything in place, knowing that this regional framework would be coming forward, and we were fine having that short grace period where there could be some operations with just the provincial regulations.”
According to a press release from the Mayors’ Council, the inter-municipal business licence has several requirements and processes for ride-hailing companies wishing to operate locally: ride-hailing companies would pay a $155 annual per-company fee and an additional $150 charge per vehicle; the per-vehicle fee will be waived for wheelchair-accessible vehicles; the per-vehicle fee will be discounted by $30 for zero emission vehicles; and the City of Vancouver will administer the interim inter-municipal business licence fee, collecting fees and trip data, which will be distributed to participating municipalities each month.
Cote said anumber of municipalities have expressed some valid concerns about ride-hailing, including equity issues with the taxi industry, the ability to provide accessible vehicles and traffic congestion.
“The Mayors’ Council had a really good discussion about this in terms of how we would be in a better position to manage it locally if we worked together on this,” he said. “I think the Mayors’ Council also said a lot of these issues relate to provincial jurisdiction, and if we continue to work, engage and push those issues there, I think that’s made some of the concerned cities a little bit more comfortable joining this regional framework.”
In December, New Westminster city council endorsed the idea of creating an inter-municipal business licence for ride-hailing companies. Some council members expressed concern about the potential for ride-hailing to contribute to road congestion and to have an unfair advantage over the taxi industry in terms of regulatory requirements.
The Mayors’ Council is also encouraging municipalities to harmonize current municipal fees for taxis with fees set out in the inter-municipal business licence. It’s also urging the provincial government and the Passenger Transportation Board to level the playing field for taxis and ride-hailing companies by reviewing taxi boundaries, fleet caps and insurance requirements and to ensure a mechanism is put in place to subsidize approved ride-hail vehicles or taxis that provide adequate accessible services for customers who rely on mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters.
B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena said the framework will streamline the business licence application process – eliminating a patchwork system across the Lower Mainland and allowing pickup and drop-off between participating municipalities.
"We will continue working to ensure the system works, prioritizes safety and is fair for ride hailing, the taxi industry and all road users,” she said in a press release.
