Taxi companies to fight bylaw at council

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This article was published 04/02/2022 (1689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Taxi companies will attempt to persuade Brandon City Council to change a bylaw they see as unfair at Monday’s regular meeting.

Under city bylaws regulating the taxi industry, it is mandated that vehicles used as taxis not be older than 10 years.

Because of the financial cost of buying newer vehicles and the depletion of used-car stocks due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and a global semiconductor shortage, ABC Taxi has contracted Derek Cullen with law firm Meighan Haddad to make a presentation on the issue.

He’ll try to make the case that vehicles already registered for use as taxis should be allowed to continue to be in service after reaching 10 years of age if they’re still considered safe up to 15 years past their inception date.

In an email to the Sun, Cullen explained the city also requires that inspection certificates be provided for taxis every six months. If the cars are being regularly inspected and are passing certification, some taxi companies don’t believe it’s fair for a car from 2012 to be allowed on the road but not a car from 2011.

“The issue is a matter of public safety of course, but the position of one or more taxi companies is that the 10-year limit is arbitrary, given the requirement for semi-annual mechanical and safety inspections,” he wrote.

The president of ABC Taxi, Dagnew Shumye, said this became a bigger issue for local taxi companies during the pandemic as revenues declined but older vehicles in fleets still needed to be replaced.

He also said Brandon is the only city in Canada he knows of that regulates the age of taxis. This, he feels, is hypocritical given that there are no such age restrictions on Brandon Transit buses or Brandon School Division buses.

“It’s very expensive to order a new car,” he said. “It’s three months, four months to wait. Most new drivers, owner/operators don’t approve of that.”

He said this effort to change the bylaws is being brought forward not just by ABC Taxi, but also 4-Way Taxi, Rainbow Taxi and Sunset Taxi.

The Sun was unable to reach representatives of 4-Way Taxi and Sunset Taxi on Friday, but Rainbow Taxi owner Dev Lallawooa confirmed he was working with ABC Taxi on this effort.

“Sometimes a car is still good, in good conditions, but we have to pull it out and then the driver has to buy another car,” he said. “Sometimes after 10 years, a car is still in good condition. The mileage might be high, but still in good condition, running and safetied, but is removed because of the year.”

Also at Monday’s council meeting, the city will vote on whether to accept a bid worth $1,366,508.96 for Sky City Roofing out of Winnipeg to replace the roof of the Brandon Community Sportsplex.

The city has previously patched the roof but decided last year to replace the roof completely.

Also being voted on will be the second reading of a bylaw authorizing the borrowing of funds to build the outdoor sports complex set for the corner of First Street North and Veteran’s Way.

After discussing the city’s road safety strategy in relation to residents wanting changes made on Durum Drive to address speeding last year, Sam van Huizen will give a presentation to council on Vision Zero, a concept that has governments strive to create road and highway policies that lead to zero deaths or injuries on roads.

Finally, members of the city’s E911 emergency communications team will be recognized for winning an award stemming from their handling of a call related to a stabbing in 2019.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark