Image: The Canadian Press
The City of Kelowna believes any fees or taxes collected from the impending introduction of ride-hailing services in the province should be returned to municipalities.
That request was one of 11 points the city is making as part of a request by the provincial government for feedback on the implementation of ride-hailing.
The NDP government is expected to introduce legislation in the fall to allow services such as Uber and Lyft to operate in B.C.
In its response for feedback, the city says any fees should be allocated to municipalities to mitigate problems created by ride-hailing, such as congestion, illegal blocking of traffic, bike and bus routes and to fund infrastructure and enhancement requirements.
Other items the city would like the province to consider include giving municipalities the ability to regulate and enforce ride-hailing companies, and a requirement that those companies share data with their host municipalities.
The city also asks that companies not have the ability to pick up passengers from taxi stands or accept street hails.
It’s believed current hailing systems, which record time, location, route, car and the name of passengers and drivers derived through a digital connection is more robust than safety features in standard taxis.
The city is required to send a response to the province by today.
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