Coquitlam Taxi Service

Mr Shawn Bowden, a spokesman for the taxi group, said Monday to city leaders that it may not be possible to establish regulations that equate competitive conditions between cabs and car pools. Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam counsellors sent both France's Transport Ministry and asked the provinces to enforce regulations for utilities such as Uber and Lyft last week.

According to the Passenger Transportation Act, carpooling is prohibited in B.C., although these businesses are becoming increasingly popular - low-cost, smart phone app-based alternative to taxi. For example, in Metro Vancouver, he noted that all taxi riders are covered up to $5 million and that every six month they have to perform mechanized vehicle checks at the operator's own costs.

In contrast to carpools, which often fix the price as needed, taxi tariffs are fixed by the provincial authorities and cannot be modified. Cab businesses also offer an important service to handicapped persons or those sitting in wheelchairs, he added, providing subsidized support that drive corporations either more for or not for.

A number of council members noted that the municipality does not support a particular carpooling association, but rather looks for provincial laws and procedures to enable them to run on the roads of the municipality. Terry O'Neill tells Bowden that taxi service allegations are widespread in the tri-cities and taxi demands are not satisfied under the present legal regime.

A taxi from Vancouver city centre to the Tri-Cities is hard to take, said O'Neill, and added that many riders will not take the ticket and waiting is always a problem. Mr Bowden admitted that the taxi industy has made errors and that efforts must be made to enhance service. Uber currently has operations in Canada in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Edmonton, Quebec City, Calgary, Southweston and more than 40 other states.

Tricities are not the only municipalities that deal with the possibilities of carpooling. The Vancouver Municipal Assembly adopted a proposal in October to have interest groups such as the International Bureau, taxi and car pools and tourist groups examine the possibilities for the area, and a progress review is due soon. The Langley Township Committee last autumn presented a lobbying Resolution in the provinces to loosen the rules on carpooling.