The Saskatchewan government gave ridesharing the green light at the end of 2018, but in Regina services like Uber and Lyft were still waiting at the red up until Jan. 28. City council voted nine-to-one in favour of the proposed rideshare rules, ward Five councillor John Findura was the only dissenting vote.
The rules say drivers must be experienced with a Class 5 license, have a good driving record (no more than 12 demerit points), undergo a criminal record check, and have their vehicles go through an annual safety inspection.
Contrary to taxi regulations, in-vehicle cameras are not mandatory and driver information will be displayed on the ridesharing app prior to a customer accepting a ride.
Capital Cabs owner Glen Sail voiced concern about this, saying cameras help ensure safety for drivers and passengers. Additionally, Sail said that taxi drivers have badges so incidents can be reported to a specific badge number and better action can be taken.
Other concerns raised include a desire for a vulnerable sector check. This would have involved checking for charges related to crimes like sexual assault or incidents involving people with disabilities or the elderly and flagged drivers from being approved.
Adding this check was voted down by council, with Mayor Fougere saying the Regina Police Service are comfortable with the current safety standards for rideshare.
“Why should we change a program that works so successfully around North America and around the world? In my view and I think the view of Regina council the changes recommended were not necessary, they were onerous and could cause us not to have the service,” Fougere said.
Before companies like Uber and Lyft can start applying for local licensing council still needs to give final approval to the bylaw. That is scheduled to take place on Feb. 28. An Uber spokesperson voiced desire to enter the Regina market as soon as possible after that date.
Members of the local taxi industry voiced a desire for what they called an even playing field, an advocate for steps to revise Regina’s taxi bylaw to get local regulations more in line with ridesharring.
Council and administration expressed interest in a review, but there is no timeline set.
“Administration indicated that they’re not interested in opening the taxi bylaw anytime soon, so we’re not quite sure what that means,” Regina Cabs manager Sandy Archibald said. “I guess in the days and weeks to come we may find out a little bit more.”
Archibald wishes council would have approved mandatory cameras and the vulnerable sector check, but overall welcomes the incoming competition.
After the regulations were sent back to administration for further review earlier this month, a large and vocal contingent in favour of ridesharing began writing the mayor.
This included the Regina Chamber of Commerce creating a form letter to express support, which received of 3,000 responses, and a Facebook group planning to pack the council chambers with supporters.
“So far it seems that there’s really been one side of the story being told for this by the taxi companies. We know that most people in Regina do support ridesharing, they want it to be here,” rideshare supporter Dale Richardson said prior to the meeting.
Saskatoon approved local rideshare bylaws at the end of December. Uber is still in the process of getting set up in Saskatoon, and is not yet operating.