Cities to consider regional ride-hailing business licence starting next week
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 18:01:34 +0000
Twenty-five local governments in the Lower Mainland and Sea-to-Sky regions will decide over the next six weeks whether to participate in a regional business licence for ride-hailing companies.
The two largest municipalities in the Region 1 ride-hailing operating area — Vancouver and Surrey — will be the among the first to consider the interim licence, which was drafted by municipal, provincial and TransLink staff, and will allow companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate seamlessly across municipal borders.
Surrey council is expected to discuss the merits of adopting the regional licence on Monday, although the meeting agenda has not yet been released, while Vancouver will look at the licence on Tuesday.
It is expected that an interim bylaw could go into effect on April 1, and a permanent bylaw will be in place by the end of this year.
Vancouver Coun. Lisa Dominato said an inter-municipal licence makes a lot of sense, and is something she can support.
“As different municipalities were coming on board and putting in place their regulatory frameworks, we were seeing disparity. So I think this streamlines it, creates some consistency across jurisdictions,” Dominato said.
“That this has been co-developed with the Lower Mainland municipalities and supported by the Mayors’ Council, so I think that’s indicative of a collaborative approach, and I think that’s what we need to have in the Lower Mainland as we address a variety of issues — transportation being one of them.”
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday, but has previously voiced his support for the regional licence.
In a report, Vancouver’s chief licence inspector, Kathryn Holm, recommended that council approve the city’s participation in the inter-municipal licence.
“The proposed (licence) for ride-hailing supports the City of Vancouver’s ride-hailing principles, and its commitment to regionally coordinated transportation,” Holm writes.
Under an interim licence, companies will be required to pay a $155 fee each year, plus a per-vehicle fee of $150. The per-vehicle fee is reduced to $30 for zero-emission vehicles and is waived for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
The amounts are similar to what Vancouver has charged Uber and Lyft under its own licensing regime to operate in the city, although Vancouver’s per-vehicle fees for standard and zero-emission vehicles are less.
Licensing fees paid to municipalities before adoption of the regional licence will count toward the cost of the new licence.
As of Jan. 23, Lyft had paid Vancouver $39,015 in licensing fees for 420 vehicles. Uber paid $215, and its business licence does not list the number of vehicles it has in operation. The city is waiting for updated data, so staff could not say how many vehicles Uber has on the road, and the company refused to supply that information.
The City of Vancouver will administer the interim licence program and will recover its costs through licensing fees. It’s anticipated that administering the program will cost the city $140,000, including the creation of a half-time clerk position.
Any extra revenue will be shared by municipalities based on the number of pickups and dropoffs in their community.
Ride-hailing companies will be required to submit data for all trips originating or ending in the participating communities. The City of Vancouver will retrieve the data, ensure the information is correctly formatted and distribute it monthly to each municipality.
According to Vancouver city staff, there are 29 municipalities in Region 1, and 25 have said they will bring the inter-municipal licence forward to their councils. Those that have indicated they will not be participating are Belcarra, Mission, Hope and the District of Kent.
Until the regional licence is in place, ride-hailing companies are expected to apply for business licences in each municipality, where applicable.
B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena told reporters in Victoria that she is pleased to see the inter-municipal business licence going ahead.
“It’s great that Vancouver is going to help organize this, and it’s going to make it much easier for everybody who wants to operate ride-hail,” said Trevena.
— with file from Rob Shaw