Council approves fee reductions for Edmonton limos, vehicles for hire

Edmonton city council approved a 100 per cent reduction in 2020 dispatch and vehicle licence fess for limousines on Oct. 5.

Council also approved a 50 per cent reduction in 2020 dispatch and vehicle licence fees for all other types of vehicles for hire.

“The fee reductions will be applied when licensees renew their dispatch and vehicle licences or apply for a new licence,” a City of Edmonton spokesperson told Global News.

For those who have already paid their 2020 fees, a credit will be applied to their 2021 fees, the city said.

Limousine and taxi service operators have been asking council to cut them a break on fees as their industry faces challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several operators addressed city councillors directly last month, reiterating concerns they have been raising for months: that the fees on top of an already challenging situation could force some of them to shut down.

1:59 Limo companies in Edmonton say they can’t pay city fees

“We’re not asking the taxpayer to fund our businesses,” Sylvain Vezina of Protocol Limousines said on Sept. 30.

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Dispatch and licensing fees are meant to pay for industry enforcement and to promote growth in the number of accessible vehicles.

— With files from Vinesh Pratap and Phil Heidenreich, Global News