Halifax councillors vote down ride-share bylaw changes mayor calls ‘regulatory burden’

Councillors in Halifax have voted down proposed bylaw changes that were aimed at modernizing the municipality’s rules around taxi operators and ride-share companies.

The proposed changes were recommended by the transportation standing committee and would have imposed new licensing requirements on ride-share drivers, which Uber Canada opposed.

Uber has operated in the municipality since 2020, while Lyft began operations in Halifax last month.

Eleven councillors voted against the bylaw changes and five voted in favour of them.

On Tuesday, Mayor Andy Fillmore described the amendments on the table as a “regulatory burden.”

“The staff report requested additional regulatory burden, more draw on staff resources, potentially more cost to the municipality, to achieve things that are already achievable under authorities we have right now,” said Fillmore, who voted against the amendments.

The current bylaw requires the ride-sharing companies to be licensed by the municipality but not the drivers themselves.

Taxi drivers have to submit background checks to the municipality, while ride-share drivers only have to submit those results to the company they drive for.

“I want to make sure they’re held to the same standard, the same requirements as our taxi drivers here are. My big concern was the criminal records check and insurance regulations,” said District 2 Coun. David Hendsbee, who voted in favour of the amendments.

Uber Canada had previously spoken out against the proposed bylaw changes, saying they would impose unnecessary red tape since the company already requires checks from their drivers.

Spokesperson Keerthana Rang told Global News the changes would have resulted in $135 in new fees for drivers and an additional $100 every two years after meeting the initial requirements.

“These are new, duplicative requirements, which is going to increase costs and slow onboarding for drivers,” Rang said on Jan. 12.

“And for riders, it will make rides less reliable and more expensive.”

District 5 Coun. Sam Austin, who voted yes to the amendments, said it was about fairness.

Trending Now

“The key pieces of work from all of this was to equalize the playing field between taxis and ride-share. And that includes in the competition, not just for passengers, but also for drivers,” Austin said.

The current bylaw also states that ride-share companies have to file monthly reports to the municipality. However, municipal staff told councillors that up until this point, no reports on ride-share drivers have ever been shared with Halifax.

For Hendsbee, that raises some safety concerns.

“I think the TNC [transportation network companies] should be providing that information to us. That might be a misunderstanding under the bylaws, but I want to make sure that those ride-share drivers are safe to be with,” he said.

Staff noted that the municipality should begin to receive those monthly reports beginning next month.

While councillors voted against the amendments, they endorsed the mayor’s motion to have a committee prepare a report on what other jurisdictions are doing, particularly on training, auditing and compliance.

The mayor said he sees this as an opportunity to make a better-informed decision.

“Riders and HRM deserve to understand all that they can, all the information that should be available about who’s driving them and what their records are,” Fillmore said.

“And that will be the beacon for me through this process.”