After witnessing the Uber controversy faced by neighbouring Edmonton city council, St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse has decided it’s about time the city adopted a taxi bylaw of its own.
Crouse put forward a notice of motion on Monday for a taxi bylaw to be brought to council for consideration by March 31, 2017.
The move to allow Uber to legally operate in the capital city has been making headlines for the past month – something Crouse said he never expected.
“We’re needing to get out in front of any of the Uber matter,” he said in an interview. “I think we need to have something in place, that’s why I’m introducing the motion and having our staff bring something forward as a proposal.”
Crouse said a taxi bylaw has been on council’s back burner for at least a decade, but was “never high enough priority to do something about it.”
Currently, the city does not have a bylaw that governs the operation of taxis.
Taxi licensing simply requires a valid business licence and a form that indicates the owner’s name, business name, vehicle description, licence plate and confirmation of the appropriate driver’s licence and commercial registration.
Crouse wants to ensure that St. Albert has a bylaw in the event Uber decides to expand northwest.
“Now that the Uber matter has raised its head in Edmonton we’re better off to address the whole taxi bylaw in totality in the next year and a bit,” he said.
The RCMP has voiced concerns about the city’s lack of regulations in the past.
Sgt. Carolyn Cameron said there is an assumption by residents that taxis are safe, but that without the proper checks and balances it is impossible to know if users are putting themselves at risk.
Cameron believes that at the very least St. Albert should consider screening drivers for past criminal activity and conducting yearly mechanical inspections. She suggests the latter could be done in conjunction with business license issuance and renewals.
“I really think it’s about time we get on this and I’m really happy about it,” she said.
Local taxi owners agree with the need for screening regulations and vehicle maintenance checks, but disagree on a few other potential aspects of a taxi bylaw.
Logan Blair, owner of St. Albert Taxi, said he has been playing fair for 25 years and would like to see council create a “level playing field” by imposing things such as top light requirements, metering systems and base fares.
J.P. Cloutier, who runs Aaron Taxi, is in favour of market protection, but has concerns about the potential costs associated with imposing certain regulations.
Both owners expressed an interest in working with administration on what should be done in St. Albert if the motion to create a draft bylaw passes in the upcoming weeks.
