New regional taxi bylaw is almost in place
Council votes in fee structures and opts for GPS over in-vehicle cameras
Regional politicians are closer to passing a new set of taxi bylaws, but those bylaws won't be in place until at least September.
At a Wednesday evening council meeting, councillors agreed to change fees and not require in-vehicle cameras, but they deferred their decision on the size of vehicle identification stickers.
Councillors gave two options for paying licensing fees: traditional taxi drivers will pay a quarterly driver fee, as well as a car fee, while Uber and RideCo drivers will pay a small fee per trip taken.
GPS instead of cameras
While they did consider the value of having cameras in all vehicles as a safety option, council instead voted to have all vehicles include a GPS, which can document trips taken.
"Every vehicle has to have a GPS," Coun. Jane Mitchell Craig Norris on The Morning Edition.
"So that if police need to, they can go back [and] see where the car stopped. Regular taxis, Uber and RideCo [need to] keep records of who is driving."
One sticking point
When it came to choosing a size for the stickers that would identify taxis and taxi alternatives, limousine companies took issue with the size of the proposed decals.
"Limos don't like signs plastered on the side of the limo when they're carrying people from a wedding party around," Mitchell said.
The issue goes before council on Sept. 21.
If approved, the bylaw would then go into effect as early as Nov. 1.