Report for City Council September 27, 2005 Meeting

Edmonton Taxi Commission – Taxi Plates (S.Mandel)

Report Summary

This report provides information on taxi plate transfers or sharing, and how other jurisdictions handle this issue.

Previous Council/Committee Action

At the July 5, 2005, City Council meeting, the following inquiry was made:

“I would like Administration to consult with the Edmonton Taxi Commission and report back to Council with some explanation behind the following:

1. Why can’t a taxi plate be transferred between more than one vehicle?
2. What would be the benefit/cost of allowing drivers to share a plate over more than one vehicle?
3. How do other jurisdictions, of comparable size to Edmonton, handle this?”

Report

This report has been prepared in consultation with the Edmonton Taxi Cab Commission.

1. Why can’t a taxi plate be transferred between more than one vehicle?

• The City of Edmonton grants a taxi licence and connects it to one vehicle such that the general public can be assured that vehicle has passed a safety inspection. This is an issue of ensuring public safety.
• There are several sections of the Taxi Bylaw that speak to this issue. All of them specify that a taxi licence may only be registered to one unique vehicle, and that the person who holds the taxi licence must be the owner of the taxi vehicle on which the licence is attached. Section 68(1)A specifiesa $5,000 fine and taxi licence revocation and cancellation if “leasing” of a taxi licence is proven.
• The Bylaw is based on the philosophy that the persons who hold taxi licences in Edmonton are actively engaged in the business of taxi operation, rather than a corporation only involved from a financial investment perspective. During Commission discussions in 1994 and 1995, when the taxi licence freeze was being contemplated, it became apparent that the Commission would not promote this action if the bulk of taxi licences would end up under the direct control of large corporate entities. The taxi licence freeze was promoted on the basis that the vehicle owner, the person responsible for the ongoing maintenance and repair of the taxi, would be the person who held the right to possess the taxi licence.
• The general public assumes that any taxi cab seen on the streets in Edmonton must be properly licensed. In reality, theCity of Edmonton taxi licence, a controlledentity, is the single identifier that differentiates between a vehicle properly licensed to operate in the City, and one that is not. Municipal Enforcement Officers and Police Officersrecognize the difference whereas the general public does not.

1. What would be the benefit/cost of allowing drivers to share a plate over more than one vehicle ?
2. The initial benefit of this arrangement is that two or more taxi drivers could create some form of a sharing agreement for the use of a taxi licence, on multiple vehicles. This would only benefit a taxi driver who does not wish to purchase the rights to a taxi licence through the existing taxi licence transfer process. This benefit also creates additional cost. Assume that each one of the existing 1,185 taxi licenceswere to be shared between two taxi drivers, each owning their own vehicle. Suddenly there would be 2,370 taxi vehicles in Edmonton, only
   50 percent of which would be properly licensed to operate at any single point in time. The potential for abuse would be immense.
3. Administration and the Commission maintain thiswould create a significant enforcement problem. Most taxi drivers also use their taxi vehicle for personal family trips. Administration and enforcement personnel would be inundated with complaints about unlicensed taxioperations that would be impossible to resolve in an after the fact manner.
4. Also of significant note, once the ability to share a taxi licence becomes possible, the present taxi licence holder could charge exorbitant “rental rates” to his sharing partner(s). The Commission does not recommend that the City get involved in regulating pricing or charges for the rental or lease of a taxi licence. Finally, this would eventually cause the street value of a taxi licence for sale through the existing transfer processto dramatically increase over time.

3.How do other jurisdictions, of comparable size to Edmonton, handle this?

• Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa all have similar taxi licence and vehicle regulations as Edmonton does. In all jurisdictions, it is possible for a taxi licence to be jointly registered to two persons, but they share one vehicle.

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