Report for City Council June 18, 2008 Meeting

Developments Since the May 20, 2008, Vehicle for Hire Report

Recommendation:
That the June 12, 2008, Planning and Development Department report2008PDD036, prepared with the Vehicle For Hire Commission, be received for information.

Report Summary

This report outlines developments for the Vehicle For Hire Commission between May 20, 2008, and June 9, 2008, regarding taxi cab safety shields.

Previous Council/Committee Action

At the June 9, 2008, Community Services Committee meeting, the following motion was pased:

That the Vehicle for Hire Commission provide a report to the June 18, 2008, City Council meeting, outlining what discussions and developments have occurred since the preparation of the May 20, 2008, Vehicle for Hire Commission/Planning and Development report 2008PDD033.

Report

Safety shields in taxi cabs have been an approved but optional piece of safety equipment since the early 1990s. This action was approved by the Edmonton Taxi Cab Commission (the Commission).
Following the murder of a taxi cab driver in 2005, the Commission undertook a safety survey. Close to 500 written responses were received and analyzed by the Commission. Following much discussion and debate, the Commission made mandatory the following safety devices. The items listed below were those that received the greatest industry support. The results indicated safety shields were only preferred by a minority. Therefore, safety shields and cameras were left as optional safety devices.

a.emergency protocol to be developed by each Taxi Broker for use by all of their drivers;

b.panic button in each taxi cab for the driver to signal the Taxi Broker of any emergent situation;

c.in-trunk emergency release hardware; and

d.Global Positioning System to be installed in every taxi cab.

The death of another taxi driver in 2007, coupled with other acts of violence against taxi drivers, sparked increasing sentiment on behalf of some drivers to raise the issue of safety shields becoming mandatory again.
At the April 7, 2008, Community Services Committee meeting, the Commission was asked to bring forward another report regarding taxi cab safety shields. This was the May 20, 2007, report 2008PDD033.
At the May 14, 2008, public meeting, the Commission announced that the recommendation to be presented to the Community Services Committee was to leave shields and cameras as optional safety devices.
Grave concerns were raised about the potential creation of an uneven playing field if the program were to be optional. In addition, the Commission was left to consider conflicting evidence from the two surveys presented as to what accurately represented the desires of the drivers.
The Commission’s Executive Committee agreed to meet with Taxi Broker representatives as well as members of the United Cabbies Association regarding this matter. This meeting took place on May 31, 2008. It was evident to the Commission that without doing its own current safety shield survey, the contentious issues being brought forward could not be overcome.
The Commission worked diligently and quickly, conducting a supervised ballot vote regarding safety shields on June 6, 2008, in City Hall. Close to 700 bona fide Edmonton licensed taxi drivers participated in the vote. Approximately 2,100 taxi drivers were eligible to vote. The ballot vote results show that 72% of those voting are in favour of safety shields being mandatory equipment.
The Commission met privately on June 7 to discuss the results from the June 6 vote, and created their revised position regarding safety shields. This “new position” is contrary to the position outlined in theMay 20, 2008, report number 2008PDD033.
The Commission confirmed the position formulated at their June 7 private meeting during their June 11, 2008, public meeting.
The present plan is to amend the Commission Regulations such that safety shields will become a mandatory safety device for all taxi cabs and accessible taxi cabs by January 1, 2009.
The Vehicle For Hire Commission has reviewed and approved this report.

Focus Area

Governance

City Council has empowered the Commission to create Regulationsregarding “vehicle equipment”, which includes safety devices.

Public Consultation

The matter of safety shields has been discussed and debated at every public meeting of the Commission since the 2007 murder of a taxi driver.
The Commissions current stance on mandatory safety shields was approved at their June 11, 2008 meeting.

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