Saskatoon council votes on taxi licence programs

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Saskatoon city council heard from several stakeholders in the city’s taxi industry while grappling with what to do with a pair of special licensing programs.

The city’s programs for wheelchair-accessible cab licences and what are known as “enterprise” licences are due to expire. Both are meant to shore up the regular taxi fleet; wheelchair-accessible licences are meant to incentivize additional vehicles that can accommodate people with mobility needs.

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Enterprise licences are restricted to being used by the person holding the licence, for one shift each day, and are meant to encourage more cabs on the road at peak hours.

Over the course of some six hours of debate and discussion, council heard from almost a dozen speakers from the taxi industry, including those representing drivers and cab companies.

City staff have recommended the gradual elimination of the enterprise licence program, which was introduced in 2019 amid debate on the introduction of ride-hailing app services such as Uber.

Council opted to continue the program, voting to introduce 16 new enterprise licences, a reduction from the 35 initially offered by the program, but an increase from the eight enterprise licences proposed in the initial recommendation delivered to council from the transportation committee.

Ward 8 Coun. Sarina Gersher was not present for the discussion on the taxi industry, due to a perceived conflict of interest with a family member’s business.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer was the lone vote opposed to the enterprise licences. During comments, he said he believes these licences, which are offered by lottery at no cost, are “problematic” for the wider industry and suggested the city ought to “rip the Band-aid off” and abolish the program outright.

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Council voted unanimously on the need for more wheelchair-accessible cab licences after hearing data from city staff indicating only 60 per cent of people calling for a wheelchair-accessible taxi waited 15 minutes or less. By contrast, 89 per cent of people calling for a standard taxi wait less than 10 minutes for a ride.

Council voted unanimously to extend the current 21 temporary wheelchair-accessible cab licences under their current terms until the end of June 2032 and to add 14 more. Council heard these new licences will be distributed between the cab companies based on their fleet sizes.

During questions from council, city permitting and licensing manager Mark Wilson said mechanisms are in place to ensure drivers running wheelchair-accessible cabs don’t reject trips from people with mobility needs in favour of taking potentially more lucrative fares. He said the city can issue warnings and fines, or move to revoking licences if necessary. He added that city staff work with the cab companies and encourage them to report problems.

Over the course of the discussion, council heard concerns from drivers about the lottery system for picking who gets enterprise licences. The rules bar anyone who has held an enterprise licence in the last two years from entering the draw. This policy was rescinded after a motion from Ward 3 Coun. David Kirton, meaning current enterprise licence holders will have an opportunity to participate in the next draw.

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