Saint John could become the second New Brunswick municipality to allow ride-sharing services.
Councillors passed the first and second reading of a bylaw Tuesday night to regulate the service.
It comes after recent amendments to the province’s Motor Vehicle Act paved the way for municipalities to introduce their own legislation.
Ride-sharing is a service that uses a mobile application to match passengers needing a ride with a vehicle owner. These services have become a popular transportation option for many years in larger communities.
Michael Hugenholtz, commissioner of public works and transportation for the city, said they have received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from the community.
According to Hugenholtz, nearly 90 per cent of people who responded to a recent survey said they would use ride-sharing if it was available in the city.
“There were some concerns or reservations that were cited, however, that did include a negative impact of ride-sharing on transit, taxi companies, also concerns about the compensation of drivers,” he said.
Hugenholtz said passing a bylaw would represent the first step in the process, adding companies would still need to set up shop.
Fredericton has had a ride-sharing bylaw for more than two years, but no companies are currently operating in the city.
Hugenholtz said there appear to be challenges relating to provincial requirements for insurance coverage.
Moncton is still in the process of developing its own ride-sharing bylaw, he said.
Former taxi owner supports ride-sharing
Coun. Gerry Lowe, who owned Vet’s Taxi in Saint John for more than 40 years, believes having ride-sharing in the city is a good idea.
Lowe said his initial concern was ensuring city requirements would place ride-sharing companies and the taxi industry on a level playing field.
“What I can see from reading through it [the bylaw], it is,” Lowe said on Tuesday evening.
Lowe said ride-sharing companies would also give residents more options to get to and from their destinations.
Lowe said Saint John had 10 cab companies and as many as 500 active taxi drivers a decade ago. Now, there are only four companies and around 100 drivers.
“If you happen to go out in this city on a Friday or Saturday night and have a drink, you don’t want to drive, good luck getting a cab going home,” he said.
But Lowe and other councillors expressed concern about being able to pick up or drop off passengers in neighbouring municipalities, such as Quispamsis, Rothesay, or Grand Bay-Westfield.
That would not be allowed under current provincial rules unless those communities also have a similar bylaw in place.
“I don’t know if a company would come here knowing it’s restricted to the city,” said Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie.
Hugenholtz said city staff have contacted outlying municipalities and asked them to consider doing just that.
Municipally-owned and cooperatively-owned ridesharing
Coun. Brent Harris suggested the city consider municipally-owned or cooperatively-owned ride-sharing, not just more recognized companies like Uber and Lyft.
“We know companies like Uber and Lyft have dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of labour filings against them,” said Harris.
“A lot of experts are suggesting that these are predatorial companies that do a disservice on a labour context to drivers. It’s a race to the bottom for the lowest possible wage.”
Hugenholtz said it would be nice to have a local homegrown company start up in the city, but noted there are currently only so many companies in the ride-sharing industry.
Coun. Greg Norton, who has long pushed for ride-sharing in the city, said the industry is more than just Uber and Lyft.
Norton pointed to Uride, a ride-sharing company based in Thunder Bay, Ont., which is looking to set up shop in New Brunswick.
“This [bylaw] is an open invitation for more folks like Uride to go ahead and say ‘look, Saint John is open for business,” said Norton.
Council will consider the third and final reading of the bylaw at an upcoming meeting.
