No, the Mayor of Surrey didn't reform ride-hailing in Metro Vancouver on his own

Sunday, August 04, 2024

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Doug McCallum huffed, puffed but approved ride-hailing

Did you hear the news about ride-hailing in Metro Vancouver?

How the Mayors Council has agreed on a common business licence for the region (at $150 a vehicle) and will push each municipality to reduce the business licences for taxis to the same amount? And how theyll ask the provincial government to review taxi boundaries and fleet caps?

And do you know, dear reader, who is responsible for all of this?

Thats right: According to Doug McCallums political party, Doug McCallum has done something thousands of political leaders havent been able to. And he did it without any help from the regions 20 other mayors.

It would be a huge, bigly, tremendous accomplishment. If it were true.

But of course, its an impossible claim to verify. And second, its a conditional victory: a level playing field between taxi companies and Uber and Lyft only happens if the government and the Passenger Transportation Board agree to what the mayors council has asked for no guarantee.

And third, all indications are that this was a process driven by staff across Metro Vancouver, mayors working collaboratively and a few politicians (such as McCallum) highlighting the need to protect jobs in the taxi industry and wanting to lobby the province for further changes.

In other news, McCallum is playing politics. He isnt the first politician to claim total victory after compromising, and he wont be the last.

But in this case, the mayor of Surrey and his political party can make whatever claims he wants, because the mayors decided to have their meetings and negotiations about the business licence behind closed doors.

And McCallum will take full advantage of that.

The Look Back

1. Ride-hailing

Yes, we covered ride-hailing a lot this week: the business licence issue, the impact on accessible vehicles, McCallums criticism, and much more. But its not often that municipalities have to deal with such a big regulatory issue en masse, and there will be more maneuvering as each council considers this new licence scheme.

Read more

2. Vancouver

Council passed rezoning for a lot of new buildings this week (film at 11), but also brought a memorandum of understanding between the city, UBC, and the three local First Nations on a SkyTrain line to the university (although the big need remains a couple billion dollars from Ottawa) and a working paper on the future of the citys co-op housing projects.

Read more

3. Victoria

The Great Plastic Bag Ban saga continues, as the capital city has responded to the Supreme Court rejecting their request for a new trial by putting forward a new plastic bag ban. Well see if this one passes legal muster, and whether the province quickly approves it or waits until it puts forward its own regulations later this year.

Read more in the Times Colonist

4. Langley

Another step in the ever incremental Surrey SkyTrain story happened Thursday, as the Mayors Council approved the business case for the line to Langley City. The city is very excited, but, of course, theres only money at the moment to have it go to Fleetwood. Thatll eventually get sorted out, right?

Read more in the Peace Arch News

5. Anmore/Port Moody

One giant plot of land owned by a developer. Two municipalities. And a whole lot of disagreement on whats the best use for its future. The battle between Anmore and Port Moody is unique for being so out in the open, but mostly a reflection of development debates happening across the region these days.

Read more

The Look Forward

1. Metro Vancouver

Committee meetings take place for the regional government on a wide number of issues this week (what fun!), including on housing, liquid waste and regional planning issues. But one that has our attention is an Indigenous Relations Committee meeting, discussing how parks can be renamed in the future.

2. Anmore

Thats right, its double Anmore this week! Council will vote on addressing a two-year quagmire over a septic leak on a school field, as it appears a strata has agreed to pay the costs required to hook up to Metro Vancouvers sewage system, which most of Anmore isnt a part of (For background, heres our 2018 story.)

3. North Vancouver District

How big can a big house be? In the District of North Vancouver, theres no real limit, but council will vote on making 5,813 square feet the new maximum in RS1 zones. Theyre also set to approve a framework for cannabis outlets in the municipality, and move two applications forward to a public hearing.

4. New Westminster

At last (this reporter may be editorializing), the region may get an arcade where you can have an adult beverage while enjoying Pac-Man/The Simpsons/Turtles In Time/NBA Jam. New Westminster is set to vote Monday on rezoning Capital City Arcade for a liquor primary licence and have it be open until 1am.

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That's it for us this week! Check out the latest headlines at cbc.ca/bc and follow our municipal affairs reporter, Justin McElroy, on Twitter. And if you have any questions you might want answered in a future mailbag, drop Justin a line at metromatters@cbc.ca.

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