N.L. plans to scrap written and road tests for Class 4 licences to encourage ride-hailing services
Cab company owner questions timing of changes, says taxi industry has been asking for them for years
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is planning changes to the Highway Traffic Act, including scrapping test requirements for some drivers, to encourage ride-hailing services like Uber to operate in the province.
At a news conference Monday, Service N.L. Minister Sarah Stoodley said drivers with a Class 5 licence for passenger vehicles or light trucks will no longer need to do a written or road test to get a Class 4 licence, required to drive a taxi or for a ride-hailing service.
"This will help to ease the administrative process for both new taxi and ride-sharing drivers, and speed up the process to recruit and retain and get more drivers on the road," Stoodley said.
Drivers will still be required to have held a Class 5 licence for at least two years, undergo a medical test and have a vehicle inspection done.
Monday's announcement comes not long after the provincial government said no legislative changes were needed for ride-hailing services to set up shop in Newfoundland and Labrador and that it was muncipalities' responsibility to change their bylaws.
Other proposed changes include new legislative definitions for transportation networks, transportation network companies and ride-hailing services. Stoodley says the definition of a taxi company will be different from the definition of a ride-hailing company.
Municipalities will continue to regulate taxi companies, while ride-sharing services will fall under provincial responsibility.
Reactions to the changes mixed
The announcement is good news for St. John's Mayor Danny Breen, who said he was happy with the province's decision to take responsibility for ride-sharing services.
"I think this is the way it should work," Breen said. "You have St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise and the other municipalities. You can't have five different sets of regulations for that. You need to have one set of regulations, and that's the proper way to regulate the industry."
Others have mixed feelings.
Jiffy Cabs owner Chris Hollett questioned the timing of the changes. He and others in the taxi industry have been asking for years to have the requirements removed, well before ride-booking apps were looking to enter the market.
"It just seems very convenient to the timing of that announcement. It seems like they want people to join ride-share instead of coming into the taxi industry. I mean, that's a concern that we had for years."
The removal of the written and road tests could lower the barrier to entry for new taxi drivers and reduce operating costs, he acknowledged, but it also introduces a new competitor to the market.
Hollett also said he's concerned about ride rates, which are mandated by the municipality for taxi companies, while ride-sharing services have traditionally been able to increase their rates based on demand at a given time.
"If the provincial government is encouraging taxi companies to change into ride-share companies, which we certainly have the technology and the capability of doing, that looks like it could be, you know, a negative cost benefit to the consumer means that you guys might end up having to pay more because we're trying to stay competitive within our market."
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said Monday that taxi companies and ride-hailing services coexist across North America.
"This can be a collaborative market. It's not winner-take-all; both can exist in the same space at the same time and be quite successful."
However, Peter Gulliver, the owner of taxi companies Citywide Taxi, Newfound Cabs, and Bugdens, says there are many hidden costs associated with maintaining a fleet of cabs.
"At the end of the day, it's cost we don't see," Gulliver said. "Repairs has gone up, labour's gone up. Here in Newfoundland every company and every business today haven't got the labour."
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With files from Jessica Singer