Vancouverites will soon have better access to taxis on weekend nights thanks to an October 23 BC Supreme Court ruling.
Justice Stephen Kelleher reversed the court's stay of a Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) decision to issue 38 temporary permits to suburban taxi companies. Those permits allow the companies' drivers to pick up passengers in downtown Vancouver between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The 38 taxi drivers will have to go through hoops such as getting necessary permits and inspections from the City of Vancouver but the major hurdle of a court injunction is now history.
"This is good for tourism and good for everybody," B.C. Taxi Association president Mohan Kang told Business in Vancouver.
He is also the spokesperson for the seven suburban taxi companies that were granted the licences.
"The best part aside from being good for my members is that it is good for the general public and for safety," Kang said.
Four Vancouver taxi companies – BlackTop, MacLures, Yellow Cab and Vancouver Taxi – had filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court battling seven rivals: Delta Sunshine Taxi, Kimber Cabs, Guildford Cab, Tsawwassen Taxi, Newton Whalley Hi-Way Taxi, North Shore Taxi and Sunshine Cabs. They won an injuction in June, which stopped the suburban cab companies from using their permits. Kelleher dismissed that petition "in its entirety," according to his judgment.
The PTB had called the taxi scarcity in downtown Vancouver an "urgent" issue. Currently only the Vancouver taxi companies can pick up fares within city limits.
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