What's the holdup in bringing Uber to St. John's?
Taxi association says talks to bring ride-hailing to St. John's already raising red flags
The City of St. John's wants to welcome Uber and other ride-hailing services — but due to foggy interactions between the city and the Newfoundland and Labrador government, it's unclear whether that will become a reality any time soon.
Some taxi industry insiders say the situation is already raising red flags.
For Uber to come to the city, the company told CBC/Radio-Canada in January, two pieces of legislation would have to change — the City of St. John's Act and the provincial Highway Traffic Act.
St. John's Mayor Danny Breen revealed in June that the city was in early talks with Uber and other ride-hailing companies.
In a recent interview with CBC News, Breen said that process is still underway and the city's legal team is investigating changes to its taxi bylaw.
But even if the city satisfies Uber's needs, said Breen, it's still beholden to the province's Highway Traffic Act, parts of which Uber says are "incompatible" with its "newer transportation model."
The provincial government refused an interview request from CBC News and provided an emailed statement instead, stating no changes need to be made to the Highway Traffic Act to allow ride-booking, which is already permitted in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Any other requirements to allow ride-sharing are imposed by municipalities and may mean municipalities would have to update their own bylaws for these companies to operate here," a statement from the Department of Digital Government and Service N.L. said.
Back and forth
The provincial government said in a statement that the definition of a taxi as written in the Highway Traffic Act encompasses ride-sharing — so taxis and ride-booking services have the same licensing requirements.
To operate in the province, according to the Highway Traffic Act, ride-hailing drivers have to hold a Class 4 taxi driver's licence and companies must have the "required automobile insurance coverage."
Uber shared a memo with the provincial government, at the request of government officials, outlining recommended amendments to the Highway Traffic Act and other municipal bylaws that would allow Uber to operate in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Radio-Canada received a copy of the memo in January. In the memo, Uber recommends the government consider three sets of changes, one of them being to remove the requirement for a Class 4 commercial licence or create a modified Class 4 licence.
The steps to obtain a Class 4 licence, reads the memo, include one year of Class 5 driving experience, a medical examination, a written test and a vision test.
Uber says amendments to the process can make it "easier for workers to access ride-sharing as an earning opportunity."
Other recommendations include either amending provincial or St. John's bylaws to create regulations specific to ride-booking. Uber says it would be better if the province changed its rules, because ride-booking is "not well suited for regulation at the municipality level, since trips often occur across municipal borders."
Breen said the city's legal team is asking ride-booking companies what they need written into a municipal bylaw to operate in St. John's. Once an initial report is brought back to the city, which Breen said he hopes to have some time this fall, the city can begin looking at whether its new bylaw can exist under the Highway Traffic Act.
As of now, it's still unclear what those changes will entail and if the province has any plans to change aspects of its Highway Traffic Act.
Taxi association is 'Uber' concerned
The city has faced pressure to introduce ride-booking amid an ongoing taxi shortage, and says ride-hailing could help improve downtown safety in the absence of available cabs.
Marc André Way, the president of the Canadian Taxi Association, said the situation in St. John's is something he's seen play out in other cities across the country: Uber tells a municipality to modify its rules and regulations to accommodate their "business model," and sells city councillors on the idea that they're here to "help."
"They're there to make sure to take over the industry without investing in training, without investing in cars, without investing in plates, without following municipal rules, without having a local office, someone locally to speak with, no community involvement," said Way, who is also the president of taxi service Coventry Connection and whose family owns the largest number of taxi plates in Ottawa.
"It's not to be a complementary service to a taxi business. That's not the role at all. It's to take them out."
Way is part of an ongoing, $215-million lawsuit launched by members of Ottawa's taxi industry against the city in 2016. The lawsuit argues that the city didn't take reasonable steps to protect taxi drivers and companies when ride-sharing services like Uber were introduced to the city.
Although it's too early to tell what rules and regulations Uber will have to follow in St. John's, Way said Uber won't exist on a level playing field with taxis. He said it's bad for both customers and the taxi industry, and that municipalities don't have to look any further than their own country to see the effects.
"They influenced our politicians to believe that their concept is a good concept," he said. "It is not true. They need to follow rules and regulations like every other industry that operates in St. John's."
A case example from B.C.
In smaller- to medium-sized markets, Uber doesn't necessarily supplant the local taxi industry, said Roy Paulson, a longtime cab driver in British Columbia's Okanagan region.
Uber launched in Kelowna, which is similar in population size to St. John's, around four months ago. Discussions about ride-booking in the area began about five years prior, said Paulson, who has been a driver with taxi company Kelowna Cabs for 15 years.
During those discussions, he said, a group of taxi company owners came together to create the Okanagan Taxi Association and fought to keep Uber out of the region. Although they didn't succeed on that front, he said they were able to petition the province's Passenger Transportation Board to ensure Uber drivers are required to have things like a criminal background check and professional driver's licence, the same as taxis.
When Uber finally came to the Okanagan, he said, a few taxi drivers tried their hand at ride-booking, but many came back to the taxi industry because they weren't getting enough passengers.
He said Uber has been helpful when it comes to filling gaps during peak times, but many people in Kelowna still rely on taxis because of Uber's costly surge prices.
There are some differences between taxis and ride-booking in Kelowna, said Paulson, including the fact that Uber has more flexibility when it comes to the areas drivers are permitted to pick up passengers from.
Paulson suggests taxi companies in St. John's should also form a group and speak with municipalities to ensure Uber plays by at least somewhat similar rules. He also said taxis should remind customers that by riding with them, their money stays local.
"One of the main things that we did notice is the ride-sharing, it works good in a bigger market, but Kelowna in particular is a medium-sized market, so there's only so many calls for rides, whether it be taxis or ride-sharing or any of that," said Paulson.
"We have a pretty steady customer base and at this point we're just watching, sitting back and seeing how it's all going to work out."
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With files from Kyle Mooney
