Halifax Moving Forward With Bylaw To Allow Ridesharing Services Like Uber
HALIFAX — Halifax council has paved the way for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to come to the city.
Yesterday, council gave first reading to a package of new rules that lays out exactly how the companies (which the city calls transportation networking companies, or TNCs) will have to operate in Halifax.
If they pass final reading later this year, the new rules will add TNCs into the municipality’s taxi and limousine bylaw. They will also set out new requirements for driver criminal record checks, licensing fees for operators, and reporting trip data to the city.
Haligonians have been calling on the municipality to let TNCs into the city for years. A recent staff report cited a citizen survey where 88 percent of the 13,4000 respondents wanted ride-hailing companies.
“It is inevitable that ride-sourcing will come to the region as it has to all major destinations in Canada,” the report said.
Council had a chance to make that happen earlier this year but delayed the vote, asking staff to better address concerns about sexual assault and security in taxis and TNCs.
Those changes have since happened. Now, the proposed bylaw includes yearly criminal record and child abuse registry checks for drivers, as well as a reporting system so drivers charged with things like sexual assault won’t be able to move from one company to another.
Council appeared happy with the safety-related changes in yesterday’s revamped rules. However, several councilors asked for another delay in the vote, this time to address environmental concerns.
Ridesharing means more pollution
Coun. Richard Zurawski pointed out the city has declared a climate emergency. He questioned whether the new bylaw properly addresses the environmental impact TNCs will have on Halifax.
“For me, this is all about climate change,” Zurawski said.
As Coun. Shawn Cleary pointed out, the arrival of Uber and Lyft in the city will mean more cars on the road, and more pollution in the air.
“We know from the evidence that everywhere we have Uber and Lyft and other TNCs, active vehicles miles travelled goes up. Fewer people ride bicycles, fewer people walk because those get cannibalized by very easy and cheap in-car transportation,” he said.
Cleary argued that in light of the council’s recognition of the ongoing “climate emergency” it’s their responsibility to look at all decisions through a climate lens.
“We have declared a climate emergency and either we believe it or we don’t,” he said.
Provincial inaction ‘extremely disappointing’
To offset the environmental costs TNCs will bring, the council wants to add a small “per-trip fee” to every fare. The money from this tax could then be used to invest in environmental initiatives.
But the city doesn’t have the authority to charge a per-trip fee. That power lies with the provincial government, which would have to change provincial legislation to let the city collect one.
Jacques Dube, Halifax’s Chief Administrative Officer, says the province has not yet officially responded to the city’s requests to change the laws. That means the city can’t put per-trip fees into its bylaw.
Zurawski, Cleary, and others said they could not support the bylaw without per-trip fees included. Many expressed frustration with the province for dragging its feet on the issue.
“It’s extremely disappointing on something so important that the province hasn’t even bothered to respond to us yet,” Cleary said.
Provincial government spokesperson Gary Andrea, meanwhile, insists the province “has not received an official request from HRM council for a per-trip fee.”
In January, when the council first delayed its TNC vote, it agreed Mayor Mike Savage would write a letter to the province requesting amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act that would allow for per-trip fees.
Dube told council yesterday the municipality and province are in conversation and that he’s “cautiously optimistic we’ll hear some formal decisions in the fall, based on the conversations we’ve had.”
Zurawski asked council to defer the bylaw changes entirely until the city gets confirmation that the province will change the law.
Council wary of more delays
Although most councilors agreed that per-trip fees were important, there was little appetite for delaying the vote.
“I have to tell you, my residents, they are looking for ridesharing. The [business improvement districts] around HRM are looking for ridesharing; the chamber is looking for ridesharing; the hotel association, the restaurant association, our students, our Halifax partnership, residents of places like Sackville and Beaverbank and Bedford, they’re wanting that ridesharing because our taxi service just doesn’t cover it,” councilor Toni Mancini said.
Mancini agreed there needs to be fewer cars on the road, and more reliance on transit but argued “our transit system is not there yet, it’s not reliable… and we can’t wait until this is perfect.”
Council eventually passed first reading of the new laws by a 12-5 margin, although many councilors said their “yes” votes were reluctant. Couns. Clearly, Zurowski, Walker, Adams, and Smith voted against it.
After Council’s decision, Lyft spokesperson Fatima Reyes said in an email that Lyft “appreciates the opportunity to work with all levels of government in Halifax and Nova Scotia” but did not weigh in on the specifics of the bylaw.
Lyft already operates in several Canadian cities and Reyes said the company “[doesn’t] have additional expansion plans at this time.”
City staff have been in fairly close contact with Uber, however the company did not respond to Huddle’s request for comment.