Scrapping long-standing taxi bylaw will benefit riders and companies, says Summerside mayor

Summerside's council voted earlier this week to repeal the city's decades-old taxi bylaw, deeming it "redundant." 

During its Dec. 16 regular meeting, councillors voted 7-1 to scrap the bylaw, which set out things like minimum insurance rates, offences and penalties, licensing fees and fare structures. 

Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher said council ultimately found there are already mechanisms in place on a provincial and policing level that made those regulations moot. 

"The safety and security issue is covered from our policing side," Kutcher said. "To make sure you only get into a taxi that's properly insured and that it passes its safety inspections… those are already requirements both from provincial legislation and then also from insurers. 

"In a lot of ways, what we did already have on the books with the taxi bylaw was redundant."

Enforcement of the bylaw fell to Summerside Police Services, but the force told council they weren't getting many complaints about taxi issues. 

Meanwhile, staff found most municipalities of a similar size don't regulate the taxi industry. While licensing fees are common in larger centres, said Kutcher, the cost of administering them in Summerside would be a burden. 

"It is something that's common in larger municipalities as a revenue generator," he said. "It really wouldn't make any financial sense [for us] to do that. We'd probably spend more dollars administering that than not." 

Another argument for nixing the bylaw was opening the door for ride-hailing services that let passengers book and pay for their rides through an online app. 

The P.E.I.-created service Kari has been operating in Summerside since last December — largely outside of the scope of the taxi bylaw, said Kutcher.

The mayor said eliminating the regulations should lower the barrier of entry for new companies — both traditional taxi services and ride-hailing operations. 

"What I do think will ultimately happen here is that our taxi operators will be able to… save some paperwork, continue to provide a good service… for those who need it, and it will continue to promote competition," Kutcher said. 

"That's always healthy in any industry where competition can create a better product, better pricing, new entrants and new ways of doing things." 

The lone councillor to vote against repealing the bylaw, Ken Trenholm, raised concerns during the council meeting that deregulation also meant doing away with mandatory security screening for drivers.