Taxi drivers, Surrey business leaders call on province to 'level playing field'
Group is calling for removal of 'archaic taxi boundaries' to level playing field shared with Uber, Lyft
The Surrey Board of Trade and the taxi industry are calling on the B.C. transportation minister to level the playing field for taxi drivers across the Lower Mainland.
The group held a news conference Tuesday morning to release a petition asking the province to remove what it calls "red tape" it said is harming the livelihoods of drivers suffering under "archaic taxi boundaries."
The taxi industry has complained ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, which have been recently approved for operation in Metro Vancouver, face fewer restrictions on where and how drivers can travel.
Deadheading practice is punitive
Currently, the province has its own ride-hailing business licence model in place, which allows drivers that pick up passengers in the City of Vancouver to drop them off in neighbouring cities without having to apply for licences in each area.
Surrey's business and industry leaders say provincial laws regulating more than two thousand taxis across the region force drivers into situations that are both inefficient and punitive.
"Allow taxis in Metro Vancouver to pick up and drop off anywhere in the Lower Mainland to serve the public better," said Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman.
At the heart of the petition is a regulation the group says forces drivers to return in empty cabs after dropping off passengers in neighbouring municipalities.
The online petition says the so-called deadheading regulation is an inefficient use of taxi fleets, increases congestion and greenhouse gas emissions and leads to higher costs and longer wait-times for passengers.