North Bay's mayor is hoping that a new 40-page taxi bylaw will be welcomed by the taxi and rideshare industry.
The new 40-page document for the "Proposed Vehicles for Hire & Private Transportation Company Vehicles" bylaw, which can be accessed by the public on the North Bay Police Service website, has been made public this week.
It's been a long process for the police board, taxi companies and URide where all sides were hoping a bylaw would be in place by the end of 2019.
See related: Taxi Bylaw slated for March
McDonald, who serves on the police board, says the next step is waiting for feedback from both the rideshare and taxi industry.
"I would not want to pre-judge if it suits their needs or not," said McDonald during a Film Industry media conference on Thursday.
"I believe the whole intent of the proposed bylaw was trying to level the playing field. I am sure there are going to be a lot of comments or questions from that industry so I do not want to pre-empt what they are thinking but our goal is to try to level the playing field to make sure our citizens are safe and make sure there is a very viable industry out there that can serve our citizens so they are not drinking and driving or they can get to medical appointments or grocery shopping. I want to hear from the industry because I'm sure they are going to have lots of input too but it is a start."
One of the key points in the detailed document is a $5000 licensing fee for rideshare companies to pay. McDonald says that number may seem high but the taxi services have to pay per car which could add up to a higher rate than rideshare.
"It is $225 per vehicle for the taxi industry so if you do the math and they have 50 vehicles it is actually higher than rideshare," noted McDonald, who formerly owned the U-Need-A-Cab business in North Bay.
"But if they don't have as many vehicles then rideshare it is cheaper. I am looking forward hearing from both to see what their thoughts are but at the end of the day we have to enforce the taxi bylaw and the reason there is a fee there is to help offset that enforcement so that's why there are fees. As for the drivers, my understanding is the rideshare is responsible and in the taxi industry, there is a fee for each driver."
McDonald adds there will also be a public meeting at some point so local citizens can also address their possible concerns about the new bylaw. However, no timeline has been set for that yet.
