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Amended taxi bylaw passes first reading

Changes to the City of Cold Lake taxi bylaw will be up for community inquiry through a non-statutory public hearing. The amendments follow sit-down conversations between the city and the five taxi companies within Cold Lake.
Council voted in-favour of hosting a public hearing regarding amendments to the taxi bylaw.
Council voted in-favour of hosting a public hearing regarding amendments to the taxi bylaw.

Changes to the City of Cold Lake taxi bylaw will be up for community inquiry through a non-statutory public hearing.

The amendments follow sit-down conversations between the city and the five taxi companies within Cold Lake.

During those conversations, cab company owners expressed their concerns with the bylaw and shared their recommendations. City administration took those comments into consideration when updating the original 1999 taxi bylaw.

One of the suggestions was to modify the annual renewal process. Companies were concerned about the cost of renewing their taxi permit every year. According to M&H Cabs and Base Cabs owner Mike Fitzpatrick, it costs about $200 per year for the renewal, this includes the cost of a driver's abstract and criminal record check.

The permit, which is required for a taxi company to operate in the city, costs $100 itself. They also requested it be reduced to $70 annually or $120 for a two-year permit. Drivers would still be required to submit their driver's abstract and criminal record check on an annual basis regardless of whether they purchased an annual or two-year permit.

A new addition to the bylaw requires all drivers to include a mechanical inspection of their cab when applying for a permit. Drivers are also required to keep their vehicles up-to regulation-standards specified within the bylaw.

Because of the issues surrounding enforcement, the city opted out of the two-year renewal process, stating it would only save drivers $10 per year.

Subcontracted drivers working for a licensed taxi business won't be required to purchase their own business license. Instead, they will be considered covered under the company they're contracted to.

Uber, TappCar, and other ride-share services, won't be regulated by the city. Taxi businesses asked that they remain under the regulation of the provincial government.

Fitzpatrick was satisfied with the bylaw overall, but had made a request for council to include a metering or charging clause.

“They won't set a price or a meter rate. In Edmonton, every cab has a meter, and the City of Edmonton sets the rate on that meter,” he explained. “(The City of Cold Lake) doesn't think it's required.”

Currently, local companies charge what they feel is fair. For example, M&H Cabs and Base Cabs run on a meter system, while other companies offer their services on a flat-rate basis.

“It's a flat rate that is based on whatever they feel like charging because no one knows what the flat rate is,” Fitzpatrick noted.

What he would like to see, is a rate set by the City of Cold Lake. Whether it's in the form of a meter system or flat rate wouldn't make a difference.

“It's fair, and if everyone has to abide by a set price, it doesn't come down to someone choosing a cab that is rundown because they're $10 cheaper. It comes down to who provides better customer service,” added Fitzpatrick.

Once the bylaw is passed, cab companies will have 90-days to transition to the new taxi operations.

In order to get feedback from residents, the city will be adding a non-statutory public hearing to the process.

City CAO Kevin Nagoya said it's a good way to hear what the public thinks about the changes to the bylaw.

“It's not a requirement under the MGA to do a public hearing, but we do recommend it. You might get better feedback from different perspectives,” he said. “In industry, feedback is more from a cost perspective, maintenance and approvals of permits… From the public, if council were to get any feedback, it's probably going to be more geared towards the service perspective.”

The bylaw passed first reading during council's regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The public hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

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