Strike by taxi drivers would backfire, mayor says

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This article was published 07/12/2017 (2574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman said any job action by Winnipeg taxi operators over the holiday season will only hurt the industry.

Bowman told reporters Friday he’s open to amendments to the proposed new bylaw regulating taxis and ride-hailing operators, but said he hoped the taxi leadership doesn’t resort to a mass strike or any other job action if the bylaw is approved by council next week.

“Let’s be clear: this is a threat against all Winnipeggers and all those that rely on taxi cabs for their transportation needs,” Bowman said, while responding to a Free Press article Friday where an unidentified member of the local taxi coalition speculated the city’s 1,600 taxi drivers and owners could stage a mass strike if council passes a bylaw without applying the same stringent safety conditions to ride-hailing operators that cabs must follow.

“If the assessment by the taxicab leadership is that reducing service to Winnipeggers over the holiday period will endear them to Winnipeggers, I think that is the wrong assessment,” Bowman said.

“It will only underscore the need for greater choice and greater competition within the marketplace.”

Bowman and councillors on his executive policy committee on Wednesday endorsed the new set of regulations, known as the Vehicles For Hire bylaw, that will go into effect March 1.

The local taxi industry opposes key provisions of the bylaw that charges a disproportionate amount of fees on taxis and requires no safety rules for ride-hailing firms. Industry leaders are also upset city hall is rushing approval of the bylaw (it was unveiled Nov. 29 and will be put to a vote Dec. 13), without determining the total impact on the taxi industry.

The draft bylaw would allow an unlimited number of ride-hailing drivers, which the bylaw calls personal transportation providers (PTP), but requires them to operate under the direction of a dispatcher.

Provisions of the bylaw would triple fees paid by taxi drivers (from $200 to $600) but imposes no fees on PTP drivers.

Current safety regulations (shields, panic buttons, roof-top emergency lights) would continue to apply to taxis, but not to PTP drivers.

Bowman defended the bylaw, describing it as modelled after existing regulations in other Canadian cities.

Scott McFadyen, the official spokesman for the coalition representing Unicity and Duffy’s, the two dominant taxi operators in the city, said earlier this week he’s not prepared to consider demonstrations of any kind by the industry and said he believes there will be enough support on council to amend the bylaw to the industry’s satisfaction.

Bowman said he is open to amendments to the bylaw at Wednesday’s council meeting, pointing out the draft was amended this week by requiring an annual review of the bylaw, rather than a review after 24 months.

While Coun. Brian Mayes said he will propose an amendment to require safety shields, Bowman said no other jurisdiction in North America requires safety shields.

Representatives from Uber and Lyft said they support the city’s draft bylaw. Uber said it expects to have drivers on Winnipeg streets on March 1 and Lyft, which only operates in the U.S., said it would have drivers as soon as possible.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca