TransLink urges municipalities to create single region-wide, ride-hailing business licence

A new TransLinkreport is calling for a single business licencefor ride-hailing so drivers can operate freely across the region.

The report urges municipalities to work together todevelop a unified approach to licensing. Current rules allow each city to impose a licence fee to ride-hailing drivers wanting to operate within itsborders.

In Vancouver,for instance, ride-hailing companies arefacinga $155 licence fee, plus a $100 vehicle fee. Meanwhile inBurnaby, each driver will have to pay a $510 fee to operate in the city.

While the Passenger Transportation Board prohibits municipalities from stopping ride-hailing from operating in their city, the frameworkdoes give cities the authority to regulate ride-hailing through licensing requirements.

"Regional co-ordination is needed to make effective use of these local government powers," says the TransLink report.

A co-ordinated approach to regulation will ensure seamless travel across municipal boundaries, allow for secure management of real-time transportation dataand minimize regulatory burdens, the report says.

Ride-hailing companies are free to operate throughout B.C. as soon as they receive authorization from the board, unless there are municipal business licence bylaws in place.

Cumulative costs

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart agrees with the recommendations.

The mayorworries the cumulative cost of licences will be too much for ride-hailing drivers, resulting in the services congregating in one city and leaving other municipalities without service.

"My concern is the whole system is going to fall apart," saidStewart. "We cannot abide a system that has essentially different licence fees across municipalities and different regulations for each municipality."

Allowing municipalities to set their own fees and regulationsgives too much power to those who want ride-hailing to fail, Stewart said.

Inter-municipal licenses

TransLink would like to see an inter-municipal licenceto allow ride-hailing companies to cross boundaries freely.

Municipalities should lay the foundation for a region-wide business licence until an entity is tasked with management of the licence process, the report suggests.

"Having the right tools enables the region to benefit from new services while minimizing negative impacts," saidthe report.

The report will be presented to theMayors' Council on Thursday.