DOCUMENT 3
Memorandum
To: EPS Committee Members & By-Law Staff
From: Taxi Dispatch Companies namely:
Blue Line Taxi Company, DJ’s Taxi Company, Capital
Taxi Company, West-Way Taxi Company, and Airport Taxi Company
Date: August 24th, 2005
Re: Comments
to New Harmonized Taxi By-Law
This is a joint submission by the taxi companies
on recommended By-Law changes in the City of Ottawa:
1.
Number of Plates
to be Authorized
We agree with staff’s
recommendations, however with respect to the way in which new accessible plates
are issued, we propose a pilot project in which half the new plates issued are
to be distributed to drivers via the existing lottery list, and the other half
are issued temporarily to the brokers.
This approach would address
the ongoing concerns of poor service being provided to the accessible
community. The plates issued to brokers
are only to be managed and this will allow the city to compare service levels
achieved from the two pools of plates.
The pilot project would last 5 years.
2.
Taximeter Rates
and Frequency of Increases
We agree with staff’s
recommendations that increases should take place once per year based upon the
TCI, if warranted.
3.
Transfer Fees
We agree to staff’s proposal
for a reduced fee. In the case of a
transfer between immediate family members (father, mother, siblings), there
should be no charge.
4.
Driver Standards
A strong, workable,
enforceable and reasonable set of rules would help in improving our taxi
service. There are a small group of
drivers that affect the reputation of all others. We recommend a dedicated Taxi Inspections. This way issues are
adjudicated by an independent enforcement agency and not between companies,
unions and drivers.
5.
Vehicle Standards
To retain standards, the
owner of the taxi plate must own or lease the taxicab and attach their taxi
plate to that vehicle.
6.
Age of Vehicles
We agree with staff proposals
and are amenable to a maximum age of vehicle being seven years, with use as
taxicab limited to 5 years.
7.
Inspections
Attention should be given to
the quality of the roof-top sign, driver behaviour, driver attire, and all
other by-laws.
8.
Appearance of
Cabs
We agree with staff’s
recommendations regarding numbers on the side of the taxis, additionally, we
believe the name of the branded taxi company must be on two doors, and
should not be any smaller than 8” x 6” and no larger 24” x 12”. These door decals must be of a quality that
are not pealing, and must be replaced if warranted during meter checks.
9.
GPS and
Surveillance Cameras.
We agree with staff’s
recommendations that Global Positioning Systems and cameras are essential to
providing a safer, more reliable experience for taxi clients.
We also support the adoption
of a surcharge on the meter rate in order to pay for, and maintain the new
equipment. These funds must only be
directed for the use and maintenance of the required equipment and software.
The GPS equipment and cameras
has to be owned and supplied by the dispatch companies in order to operate the
fleets and maintain the standards.
The GPS system must be
approved by the City and fully maintained by the taxi dispatch company. For safety and consumer protection, the
dispatch company has to be able to verify details regarding job bookings, and allocation
of work to specific cabs with respect to location of the cabs. This information should be available to the
City upon request.
The dispatch system records
need to only be retained for a maximum of 180 days.
Taxi dispatch companies would
only use GPS records for allocation of work, tracking of a taxicab during an
emergency, and verifying complaints.
The in-vehicle cameras must
meet a common standard set by the dispatch company in order to maintain and
replace consistent equipment. The
extraction of images captured will be the responsibility of the dispatch
companies.
10. Snow Tires Nov 1st to Apr 15th
Agree with staff
recommendation.
11. First Aid Kit
It is our view these are only
required for Accessible Taxicabs, with the responsibility of the vehicle owner
to maintain the kit and ensure it is well stocked.
12. Fire Extinguisher
Not necessary except for rear
entry Accessible Taxicabs. There is a
potential of passenger entrapment if the rear door is blocked by a parked
car.
13. Display of Passenger Right and of Driver Bill of Rights
Agree with staff proposals.
14. Accessible Cab Identification & Accessible Logo
The present requirements are
good.
15. Taxi Advisory Committee
Agree with staff proposals
but request that there be a balance.
The union representative and one other owner-driver representative on
one side, and the taxi dispatch companies having two representatives as a
counter balance.
16. Reciprocal Agreement with Gatineau
We feel there is a great deal
to be gained from having an inter-jurisdictional task force. The aim has to be a formalized separate
“Agreement” which allows an Ottawa cab to pick-up in Quebec for transporting
the passenger back to Ottawa and a Quebec licensed cab to pick-up in Ottawa for
transport back to Quebec.
17. Driver GST
This is actually covered by
section 8 (30) of the proposed new by-law where a receipt is to have the driver
and broker GST number. We agree with
the City proposal.
18. Taxicabs to Use Dispatching Service
The following are requested for Consumer
protection and safety:
I.
Belong to a Taxi
Dispatch Service – Accountability Factor
All taxicabs must
belong to a taxi dispatch service, and the taxi companies must be obligated to
provide the general information on drivers and record of employment (tenure).
II.
No shadow
dispatching
This should be
illegal, with heavy fines applied if the taxi companies can verify that
allocated work was passed-on to other taxicabs.
III.
Identity Code for
each Driver (not taxicab)
Many taxi
companies operate with a vehicle code, and not a specific driver code. Drivers and unions encourage this for less
accountability and more difficulty in assessing the amount of time each driver
works. As movers of the public, every
driver must be accountable for the work done by that driver. A driver should not be able to sign-on
without having a driver ID. Taxi
companies should be given time to change their systems – 2008
19. Taxi Dispatch Companies/Brokers
I.
Retention of Dispatch Log Records
Taxi companies
must be able to provide detailed logs of vehicle activity by time on the
offering and accepting of specific jobs by specific taxi drivers.
II.
Liability
insurance of $5 Million Minimum
Required for any
operator. Insurance companies are
recommending greater protection for companies and drivers due to potential
claims.
20. Fines
Fines have to be established
and documented for shadow dispatching, use of cell phones while driving, bandit
operators, over-charging, refusing to take credit cards, refusing service or
rude behaviour.
21. Accessible Taxicabs
An Accessible Taxicab must
accept accessible jobs, and failure to take work must lead to reasonably
effective penalties being applied by taxi companies to enable the work to be
covered quickly.
Any Accessible Taxicab must
be registered with a large (over 50 taxicab) operation. We have been advised that Accessible
taxicabs have been known to book-off at busy hours, and take able-bodied people
picked up off the street to avoid long driving times
To get full utilization of
these vehicles at most hours of the day and night , it is recommended that all
accessible taxicabs operate on a shift basis with at least two drivers, and not
necessarily requiring a driver to be an owner of the taxi plate.
22. Shuttle Services and Private Vehicle Transfer Services
Shuttle services of less than
seven passengers must be licensed by the city under the taxi by-law, and should
operate within tight rules and regulation – similar to taxi regulations. Shuttle Services need to be clearly defined
and should undergo inspections similar to taxis.
Vehicle transfer services
such as those provided by companies like “Responsible Choice” or “Keys Please”
must be regulated under the same taxi by-laws, and must operate with authorized
taxi plates for service. Taxi companies
have always offered the same services.
23. Debit
Card Usage
Dispatch companies offering
debit card processing should be able to levy a nominal service surcharge
(currently averaging $1.50 today in many cities).
24. Customer Tariff Cards
·
These inserted in taxicabs must have a City complaints phone number
·
The card must state that drivers have to accept credit cards
DOCUMENT 4
TAXI
BY-LAWS –
ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - PRESENTATION
Good
morning! I am here as Chair of the
Accessibility Advisory committee to speak on the proposed new taxi
by-laws. We as a committee have had an
excellent presentation by Susan Jones, and have had opportunity to discuss the
proposed by-laws. We wish to offer our
very strong support for the package, and in particular wish to comment on the
following:
We commend
the work done on this new taxi by-law proposal. It indicates an appropriate measure of sensitivity and
understanding for the needs of persons with disabilities. It builds accessibility into the service in
a seamless manner. It moves closer to
meeting the requirements of the new Provincial Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act, proclaimed law in July, 2005. It will make the City of Ottawa a frontrunner in providing
accessible service to all citizens, and will move the city closer to the 20/20
Vision of a city for all its citizens.
The
Accessibility Advisory Committee supports this proposed new taxi by-law
package, and will be recommending that City Council adopt it in its entirety. We would encourage Emergency and Protective
Services to move it forward to City
Council with their strong endorsement.
I would be
happy to address any questions or concerns now.
DOCUMENT 5
DISABLED AND PROUD
(Representative: Charles Matthews) - By-law Recommendations
(1) Supports
staff recommendation of 40 new accessible plates a year, equaling 160 new
accessible plates by 2009
(2) Supports proposed new regulations mandating brokers and taxi drivers provide priority service to persons with disabilities
(3) Supports
mandatory accessible training for all new taxi drivers
(4) Supports
use of rear loading accessible vans
(5) Supports
introduction of GPS in all taxi vehicles - ensure disabled service is provided
on priority basis
(6) Supports
staff recommendation of prohibiting $10 "special service" surcharge
for an accessible vehicle or additional services
for a disabled passenger
(7) Taxi
industry desperately needs more qualified accessible taxi drivers to meet
service demand
DOCUMENT 6
PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Total of eight
(8) comments received from members of the public
§ One (1) resident commented that more licensed taxicabs were required for the City of Ottawa, also commented that license fees should be lowered
§ One (1) resident requested increased By-law enforcement/Police enforcement of municipal and provincial regulations as they pertain to the taxi industry
§ Three (3) respondents stated a need for an increase in the number of accessible taxicabs and qualified accessible drivers. Further request for the strengthening of regulations to ensure priority service for persons with disabilities
§ One (1) respondent stated improvements to the initial training course were required and that re-fresher/re-training was required for existing taxi drivers
§ One (1) respondent suggested a reduction in taxicab license fees
§ One (1) respondent commented that the current taxi vehicle dimensions within the current regulations should be amended to permit to permit smaller two (2) passenger vehicles/low emissions vehicles such as the “smart car”
Total of nine (9) comments received from individual industry stakeholders
§
Both support and opposition to one
zone
§
Opposed to the immediate issuance of
any new taxi plates, industry input required prior to any future plate issuance
§
Current age of vehicles to restrictive
– vehicle age limits must be extended
§
Comment stating only one (1) driver
(owner) should be permitted to operate
accessible taxicab
§
Comment that Ambassador Taxicab
program is obsolete
§
Suggested/Requested that Chief License
Inspector powers be amended to remove the ability of Chief License Inspector to
revoke a license
§
Requested that minimum charge (varied
from $10 - $15) for credit card payment be introduced
§
Requested surcharge on all credit card
payments for taxicab service
§
Requested that new provision be
incorporated into new regulations that permit a driver to request a deposit
from a patron prior to the commencement of trip
§
Requested modification to TAC
membership – Accessible drivers require representation on Committee
§
Requested that drivers be permitted to
accept U.S currency on par (no exchange rate)
§
Broker provisions within current
By-laws must be strengthened to ensure brokerage companies provide priority
service to disabled community
Total of two (2)
responses from individuals from the disabled community
§ One (1) respondent requested that City of Ottawa taxi tariff card should include vehicle information in Braille
§ One (1) respondent stated:
- The need for increased floor space dimensions for current vehicle standard provisions in order to better accommodate guide dogs/service animals
- Stated new regulations should mandate that taxi driver should notify/advise passengers with disabilities (via phone call/knock on door) that cab has arrived.
- Regulations should also stipulate that, if so requested by a visually impaired patron, the driver must identify himself/herself verbally.
- Supports the introduction of GPS in all taxicabs – improve service/provide priority service to disabled persons.
- All By-law Enforcement Officers require sensitivity training
DOCUMENT
7
1. Request
that current Taxi By-law Section regarding the acceptance of credit card
payments be kept without amendments.
2. Addition
of new by-law provision permitting a taxi driver to refuse a customer if a
deposit is not provided upon the driver's request.
3. Request
that the age of vehicle standards for replacement motor vehicles be amended to
reflect a standard age of eight plus one (8 + 1)
4. Requests
the Ambassador cab reference be completely removed from the Taxi Licensing
By-law.
5. Request
that Sections pertaining to the Chief Licensing Inspector and By-law
Officer's powers be amended to reflect
that the Chief License Inspector may not suspend any person or taxi license
under any situation until the License
Committee has reviewed the issue.
6.
Amendment to current by-law provisions to permit a taxi driver to start the
meter five minutes after arrival/or after the notification of the customer.
7. That the
Taxi Advisory Committee (TAC) recommend that the Emergency and Protective
Committee consider the following:
§
That
the issuance of new plates be delayed until one after the implementation of the
new Harmonized Taxi By-law; and
§
That
discussion on the mechanism by which plates are issued be undertaken in 2006 in
consultation with the TAC, with a report back to EPSC in early 2007
8.Request
that the regulations covering accessible taxis provide that accessible plate
owners and operators work under a dispatch system that be kept in operation
(not switched off; and
(a)that priority be given by the same plate owners/operators and
dispatch companies to accessible calls; and
(b) that sanctions be developed for failure to observe this By-law (apply
to both drivers and companies).
9. TAC
adopt in principle the following recommendation:
"That
every driver, either picking up or dropping off a customer, have the right to
park at restricted areas for as long as it takes the customer to get into the
vehicle, or in a case where the driver is assisting the customer to his or her
destination (elderly or in need)"
10.
Requested that the "three zone" system be kept in place and that the
change to "one zone" only be
discussed once the suburban areas are in need of additional taxis.
11. TAC recommends the taximeter rate be automatically increased each year, if so warranted by movement in the taxi cost index.