B.C's select standing committee on ride hailing has made its recommendations, and now the future of the industry lies with government.
"Whatever the province recommends, I think an even playing field between the taxi industry and ride hailing is critical," said Mayor Jack Crompton.
"I hope we see a regulatory regime that will allow for Uber and Lyft to be a reality, and I think it's important the taxi industry have an equal playing field on which to compete."
As the former owner of a local taxi company, Crompton said he's fairly closely connected with many drivers in town, but hasn't received any official comment from the Whistler taxi industry on the issue.
"Ultimately, ride hailing is provincially regulated, and once there's a regulatory regime in place, I imagine Whistler would be one of the first places we'd see ride hailing," he said.
"(But) the rights and responsibilities available to Uber should be available to taxis, and that's my opinion of things. How the province will provide an even playing field is for them to say."
The necessary legislative changes to allow ride hailing have already been passed, said Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and chair of the select standing committee for ride hailing.
"What the government is doing now is basically updating some of the regulations that are required in order to allow the new transportation network services regime to come into effect," Ma said, adding that the expectation is still to have the services launch in the fall of this year.
"It's clear the public is very frustrated with the lack of transportation options available here in B.C., and we're really optimistic that the regime that we're bringing in this year will be able to help resolve that and that people will be able to have access to the kinds of options that they've been waiting for."
Over the past two years, the committee invited submissions from more than 700 individuals and groups ranging from the taxi and ride-hailing industries and local governments to First Nations and advocacy groups, Ma said.
On the topic of fairness for taxis, Ma pointed to recommendation No. 8 from the committee.
"(It) said that the provincial government should ensure that legislation governing the existing taxi industry is reviewed and updated in concert with the drafting and introduction of any new transportation network company's specific legislation in order to allow for fair and equitable competition between the two industries," she said.
But the matter remains with the provincial government for now, and at least one committee recommendation—that Uber and Lyft drivers only require a Class 5 licence—is being met with opposition from transportation minister Claire Trevena.
The minister has said she "will not move" on requiring all drivers to have a commercial Class 4 licence (the committee—comprised of four NDP MLAs, four BC Liberals and one Green MLA—was unable to reach a consensus on the issue, Ma said).
Devinder Mann, owner of Whistler Taxi, agrees with Crompton that "fairness is key," and believes that sticking to Class 4 licences will address some of the safety concerns around ride hailing.
"It's in the hands of the government," he said. "They have done a lot of studies and all that, and we just have to see what they come up with."
But for a business still struggling mightily with staff—just 26 of Whistler Taxi's 39 cars are currently operating—Whistler's ongoing housing issues need to be addressed first and foremost, Mann said.
"This is a huge, huge issue," he said.
"I think that's what the local government should think about, especially for the next year, is how they can handle that demand."
Anyone interested in driving for Whistler Taxi can reach Mann at [email protected].
