Agenda Index City of Vancouver

POLICY REPORT
LICENSING

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM:

Chief License Inspector in consultation with Director of City Plans and General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

City of Vancouver Shared-Ride Service Model

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS:

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the above recommendations.

COUNCIL POLICY:

The Vancouver Transportation Plan (1997): supports small community buses offering services around neighbourhoods and as a feeder service to the main TransLink services. The Transportation Plan also identifies the need for a substantial increase in transit services to accommodate the growing demand for trips around the city.

The Vehicles for Hire By-Law, Number 6066, amended by By-Law 7828, effective January 2, 1998: a By-Law for licensing and regulating the owners and drivers for hire in the City of Vancouver.

The Vehicles for Hire By-Law, Number 6066, amended by By-Law 7903, effective June 16, 1998: a By-Law identifying shared-ride vans as a new classification of carrier. This classification was included to prohibit the operation of a shared-ride service in the City until appropriate regulations for granting licenses and operation of such a service carrier were established.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

Further to Council's resolution of October 19, 1999 providing approval in principle for the concept of licensing a shared-ride van service(s), this report presents a Shared-Ride Service Model providing operational, licensing and vehicle and driver regulations for a shared-ride van service(s) based in the City of Vancouver. The Model, developed through consultation with the Motor Carrier Commission (MCC), TransLINK and the taxi industry, is not designed to address specific individual applications, but rather to establish set parameters and criteria under which all shared-ride services are to be evaluated. Shared-ride operators seeking licensing under the provisions of the Model must obtain prior approval from the MCC and comply with all regulations contained therein.

Since February 2001, the City has been monitoring the progress of an application for shared-ride services before the MCC. The application was refused in June 2001, however, a reconsideration is scheduled for March, 2002. This report is being brought forward to Council at this time so that the Shared-Ride Service Model can be presented to the MCC prior to its ruling and subsequently considered when the MCC establishes its own terms and conditions of licensing. The MCC's regulations will then be compared to the Model and a follow-up report recommending any required changes to the Model will be presented to Council. The final regulations will then be incorporated as by-law amendments

With no precedent for shared-ride service in the City, the effectiveness of the Shared-Ride Service Model can be evaluated only after licensed operators have completed at least one full year of service. This time period will allow operators to determine consumer demand andamend their operating strategy accordingly. Staff will monitor the licensed shared-ride service(s) during the first year of operation to evaluate problems/concerns, level of compliance with regulations and degree of impact on transit and the taxi industry. After the first full year of operation, an update report will be presented to Council.

A summary of the process outlined above is presented in Table 1 on the following page.

B BACKGROUND

In 1998, the City received two proposals for shared-ride van services from Local Mini Bus (LMB) and Vancouver Shared Ride (VSR); the latter a joint proposal submitted by a group of taxi companies operating in the Greater Vancouver Region. LMB's proposal initially involved up to 200 vehicles, while the VSR proposal involved 20 vehicles with the possibility of an increase to 36 vehicles within four years. LMB has since requested that any organization that meets basic safety and fitness requirements should be given the option to license as many vehicles as deemed fit.

With no prior exposure to shared-ride services, the City was not in a position to consider the proposals submitted. Therefore, on June 16, 1998, Council approved an amendment to the Vehicles for Hire By-law establishing a shared-ride van as a new category of vehicle for hire and instructing the Chief License Inspector not to process any applications for shared-ride services until Council could consider new regulations to govern such operations.

On July 7, 1998, Council considered a staff report presenting the legal, commercial and transportation issues pertaining to the shared-ride proposals submitted to the City. The report concluded that a shared-ride service could provide a valuable additional transportation service within Vancouver. Council directed staff to evaluate the opportunities and potential
problems with a city-wide shared-ride service, review these with the Motor Carrier Commission (MCC), BC Transit, the taxi industry and other interested associations and groups and report back on appropriate operational and licensing regulations.

In response to Council's direction, a comprehensive Technical Report on Shared-Ride Van Services examining the opportunities and potential problems in permitting shared-ride van services in the City and appropriate licensing and operational requirements was completed in October 1999. This report is available for review in the City Clerk's Office. Findings of the Technical Report were presented to Council on October 19, 1999 with a recommendation that Council proceed with caution by licensing two shared-ride service providers, each operating twenty vehicles in a city-wide five (5) year pilot project. Council's resolution was as follows:

DISCUSSION

Motor Carrier Commission Jurisdiction

Before June 15, 1999, taxis, limousines and shared-ride vans operating within a single municipality were exempt from the licensing requirements of the Motor Carrier Commission. Further to the recommendations of a report on B.C.'s taxi industry (June 1999), legislative amendments to the Motor Carrier Act (MCA) adopted in May 2000 effectively removed this exemption. All taxi, limousine and shared-ride van operators, regardless of their service area, now require approval from the MCC and are subject to Motor Carrier Commission licensing regulations and enforcement under the terms of the MCA. As a result, the City cannot license shared-ride operators/vehicles that have not received prior approval from the MCC.

Staff have discussed the shared-ride van concept with the Motor Carrier Commission (MCC) and have been monitoring the progress of an application for shared-ride services which has been before the MCC since February 2001. On June 19, 2001, the MCC refused the application for the reasons outlined in Appendix A. However, the applicant has since filed a request for reconsideration. This reconsideration will proceed by way of written submissions to the MCC followed by an oral hearing scheduled for March 7th and 8th, 2002. It is staff's intention that the Shared-Ride Service Model be presented to the MCC prior to its ruling on this reconsideration so that should the application be approved, the regulations contained therein can be considered when the MCC develops its own terms and conditions of licensing.

Other municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District also have the opportunity to provide input to the MCC with respect to shared-ride services within their own jurisdiction or in the larger region. This should assist the MCC in developing effective and enforceable terms and conditions of licensing for shared-ride services in the Lower Mainland Region.

Demand for Shared-Ride Van Service

Staff is of the opinion that a shared-ride service could provide a valuable additional transportation option in Vancouver. Transit services generally in the City have been expanding at an insufficient rate to keep up with the expansion of both off-peak and peak demand. TransLink has acknowledged that there is a considerable unmet demand for services that cannot easily be supplied by transit, including cross-city trips and links to main transit routes. This is confirmed in the City's Transportation Plan (adopted by Council in 1997) which proposes the use of small, community buses and custom services to feed major
bus routes and to serve communities where big buses are not warranted. The intent of such services is to augment and complement transit services, providing neighbourhood-based, low cost transit to those lacking convenient access to such services. Taxis, on the other hand, provide a unique door-to-door service but are an expensive transportation option for many people.

Staff believes that a shared ride van service is more responsive than transit and less costly than taxi service, particularly for long-distance trips and those requiring numerous transfers. It offers a more flexible and personalized service than the conventional fixed route systems and has the potential to provide effective inter-neighbourhood service and offer affordable connections to main transit routes.

Recommended Shared-Ride Service Model

The Shared-Ride Service Model in Appendix B outlines the proposed operational, licensing and vehicle and driver regulations for shared-ride service(s) based in the City of Vancouver. These regulations have been developed to ensure such services operate safely and efficiently and above all, satisfy the transportation needs of City residents. The Model provides shared-ride operators with a certain degree of operational flexibility, yet remains firm on aspects critical to passenger safety, efficient traffic movement and impact on other transportation providers.

Provisions of Shared-Ride Service Model

This section briefly discusses a few of the terms and conditions critical to the success of the Shared-Ride Service Model.

The Model recommends that Council grant up to 60 shared-ride vehicle licenses to be issued at a maximum of 30 for each individual company. The most recent report on shared-ride services, considered by Council on October 19, 1999, recommended approving a maximum of 40 vehicles divided into two fleets of 20 vehicles each to be licensed city-wide for a period of 5 years. Both of the shared-ride proposals submitted to the City in 1998 proposed intra-municipal service only and therefore, did not require MCC approval.

However, as of June 15, 1999, all new shared-ride operations, regardless of service area, are subject to MCC approval. Therefore, it is expected that new shared-ride proposals based in the City of Vancouver may request licensing which would allow them to cross municipal boundaries. Such flexibility would enable companies to attain optimal ridership by reaching a larger market. In turn, however, such a service would require more vehicles to sustain economic viability and achieve a competitive edge. Furthermore, the extensive capital and operating costs associated with setting-up and operating a share-ride service also warrant a greater number of vehicles on the road in order to maximize number of trips and increase profitability.

Therefore, staff is of the opinion that sixty vehicles is a manageable number which would enable the City to effectively monitor problems/concerns with the business(es) and allow operators to remain economically viable. Restricting the issuance of licenses to 30 for each individual company should encourage more than one company to enter the marketplace. This will provide the opportunity for competitive service and allow each business to diversify its services and carve out a special, unique niche, thereby satisfying some of the community-based needs of City residents as a result.

The Shared-Ride Service Model does not restrict the service area for licensed vehicles but requires all trips to begin and/or end in the City of Vancouver. This condition ensures that Vancouver-licensed vehicles serve those passengers either wishing to travel within the City, or from the City to another municipality and back. This way, the operation will predominantly benefit the transportation needs of City residents as well as those individuals or groups wishing to conduct their personal or business affairs in the City. The Vancouver International Airport and the University Endownment Lands may also be included in the service area subject to the agreement of the appropriate governing authorities.

A number of operational requirements, outlined in Appendix B, are necessary to ensure the successful operation of the shared-ride service. One critical condition requires all passengers to pre-book with the service in advance. The vehicles cannot pick-up passengers attempting to hail down the service as this would result in direct competition with the taxi industry. As well, a full service must be operational for a minimum of 12 hours per day and a sufficient number of vehicles must be made available for community-based and cross-city services.

The proposed 5-year trial period under which a shared-ride service was to operate was originally recommended as it would most closely resemble the typical operational structure expected to develop should Council decide to continue and expand the operation in the future. However, once an operator has established itself in the marketplace and expended considerable capital and operating funds, revoking vehicle or fleet licenses after five years of operation would be a difficult proposition. Furthermore, the License By-Law already outlines a process concerning the suspension of licenses which is fair and equitable to both parties. In lieu of the 5-year trial period, staff propose to monitor the licensed shared-ride service(s) to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and determine impacts on the taxi industry and transit. Findings will be reported back to Council after the first full year of operation.

Potential Drawbacks of Shared-Ride Service Model

As the Shared-Ride Service Model has been developed without the benefit of a precedent in the City, the likelihood of certain potential drawbacks exists. Although these drawbacks have been considered in the development of the Model (refer to italics below), the extent to which they come to fruition can be evaluated and addressed only once the licensed operator(s) have completed at least one full year of service. This time period will allow operators to determine consumer demand and amend their operating strategy accordingly.

The potential drawbacks of the Model are as follows:

· If, after a full-year of service, the shared-ride services are not operating in compliance with the conditions of licensing, the only process in existence to enable the licenses to be revoked is the show cause hearing. This process may or may not be successful depending on the specific concerns. Therefore, the City may be burdened with a problematic service with serious repercussions on passenger safety and other transportation service providers. Restricting the number of shared-ride vehicle licenses to 60 should enable the City to monitor non-compliance more effectively and minimize the severity of disruptions and negative impacts as a result of service failures.

· If the shared-ride service(s) starts to fail, the operators may begin to run the business similar to a taxi service. It is expected that with staff monitoring the licensed shared-ride service(s) during the first year of operation to evaluate concerns and level of compliance and enforcing on-street regulations, business and/or vehicle licenses can be revoked or the operation can be turned around before it resorts to operating as a taxi service to remain in business.

· Should the MCC approve a regional shared-ride service in the near future, the City will inevitably be faced with shared-ride services licensed in other municipalities picking up and dropping off passengers in Vancouver. The City will have no control over these operations, making enforcement difficult. Should the MCC approve regional shared-ride services, it is the City's intention to establish dialogue with other Lower Mainland municipalities to ensure coordination in licensing shared-ride services in the Lower Mainland Region.

· The requirement for all passengers to pre-book with the service in advance may pose problems for shared-ride drivers when having to refuse service to individuals or groups who have not pre-booked and are waiting at designated stops in the Downtown. By monitoring all complaints during the first full year of operation, the extent to which this regulation poses an inconvenience to passengers and the operation of the service will be ascertained. If the inconvenience is significant, staff will reconsider this regulation in its one-year update report to Council.

· Trips satisfying those areas of greatest demand (eg. cruise ship terminal; hotels) may take precedence over City residents requiring community-based and cross-city service. As a result, the service may not be as available to the people who could benefit from it the most. Restricting the issuance of licenses to 30 for each individual company will encourage more than one company to enter the marketplace. This will provide the opportunity for competitive service and allow each business to diversify its operation to include some community-based service.

· The shared-ride operation(s) may charge service fares that undercut taxi operators, thereby taking away some of the taxi industry's ridership. The City believes the appropriate fare structure for shared-ride services should be determined by the MCC and the marketplace and enforced at the Provincial level.

Accessibility Issue

Wheelchair accessibility for shared-ride vehicles is not a requirement in the Shared-Ride Service Model. Such a requirement could threaten the economic viability of a shared-ride service as the cost of providing wheelchair access is estimated at between $10,000 and $20,000 per vehicle. The success of the service also depends heavily on optimal loads and a wheelchair-equipped vehicle would limit the number of passengers that could be carried and increase the time required to load and unload passengers. Although shared-ride vehicles may not be equipped to transport wheelchair passengers, the service has the potential to assist the ambulatory handicapped , thus relieving some of the pressure on existing transportation services for the disabled, such as HandyDART.

Enforcement

Effective enforcement of the regulations in the Shared-Ride Service Model is critical for successful and efficient shared-ride operations based in the City of Vancouver. The regulations serve to minimize safety concerns, service disruptions for passengers and negative impacts on other transportation service providers.

The success of shared-ride services in the City depends on compliance with the regulations, which in turn is tied to effective on-street and administrative enforcement. Fines for non-compliance are clearly specified in the Vehicles for Hire By-Law. Enforcement will be carried out as follows:

· Part-time enforcement staff with the ability to issue tickets will be hired to observe and ensure compliance of shared-ride services with all on-street regulations throughout the City, but particularly in the downtown peninsula west of Main Street. These staff persons, sometimes also acting as ghostriders, will be payed for through additional funding from licensing;

· Staff will review the operation(s) dispatch records and monitor dispatch activity directly;

· All complaints concerning any aspect of the shared-ride van operation(s) received by City staff will be investigated and addressed; and

· On-the-spot driver and vehicle checks will be conducted by the Police and City Inspectors.

Finally, staff will evaluate licensed shared-ride operations to ensure compliance with the Shared-Ride Service Model and to monitor impacts on the taxi industry and transit. If staff feel that the shared-ride service(s) is not operating as intended, with either the safety of passengers being compromised and/or other competing transportation providers suffering negative impacts, this will be reported to Council with a recommended course of enforcement.

CONCLUSION

Staff believe that a shared-ride service could provide a valuable additional transportation option in the City of Vancouver. A shared-ride operation offers a more flexible and personalized service than the conventional fixed route transportation systems and has the potential to provide effective inter-neighbourhood service and offer affordable connection to main transit routes.

The Shared-Ride Service Model, presented in this report, provides operational, licensing and vehicle and driver regulations for shared-ride service(s) based in the City of Vancouver. These regulations have been developed to ensure that shared-ride services operate safely and efficiently and above all, satisfy the transportation needs of City residents. Shared-ride operators seeking licensing under the provisions of the Model will be required to obtain prior approval from the Motor Carrier Commission (MCC) and comply with the operational, licensing and vehicle and driver regulations contained therein.

Although staff continue to have concerns regarding potential drawbacks of the Shared-Ride Service Model as discussed in the report, the consequences of permitting shared-ride service(s) to operate in the City can only be evaluated after licensed operators have completed at least one full year of service. Staff will monitor the licensed shared-ride service(s) throughout the first year of operation to evaluate problems/concerns, level of compliance with regulations and degree of impact on transit and the taxi industry. After the first full year of operation, an update report will be presented to Council.

* * * * *

cs020314.htm

NOTE FROM CLERK: APPENDIX A is not available in electronic form and is on file in the Office of the City Clerk.

APPENDIX B

CITY OF VANCOUVER SHARED-RIDE SERVICE MODEL

It is essential that conditions for the licensing and operation of shared-ride vehicles be incorporated into the City of Vancouver's Vehicles for Hire By-Law before a shared-ride van service(s) can commence operation in the City. These regulations will be revisited when the Motor Carrier Commission has granted approval for shared-ride van services and has established its own terms and conditions of licensing.

The following Shared-Ride Service Model presents the operational, licensing and vehicle and driver terms and conditions that will need to be met by all shared-ride operators prior to the issuance of a license.

1. Purpose of Service

1.1 To expand the variety of transportation options in the City of Vancouver by introducing a unique shared-ride service(s) which carries pre-booked multiple passengers to different destinations in a single vehicle.

2. Motor Carrier Commission Approval

2.1 Prospective licensees must obtain licensing approval from the Motor Carrier Commission.

3. Service Plan

3.1 Prospective licensees must submit to the City a detailed "Service plan" that describes how the proposed service will operate. The Service Plan will address, Fleet Size, Service Area, Operations within the Service Area, Time of Operations, Ride Booking, Vehicle Dispatching, Commitments to Passengers, Use of Designated Boarding Locations, Service Fares, Fleet Ownership, Driver Training and Employment, and Vehicle Type, Condition and Signage.

3.2 The Service Plan must include operational arrangements to ensure adequate service in all service areas during all service times.

3.3 The Service Plan must demonstrate that there is sufficient demand in the proposed service area and establish that similar services are either not available or inadequate to meet demand.

3.4 The Service Plan must outline efforts taken by the operator to ensure a sufficient number of vehicles are available for community-based and cross-city service and to facilitate the needs of residents with inadequate transit services.

4. Fleet Size

4.1 The City will license a maximum of 60 vehicles with up to 30 vehicles for each individual company.

4.2 The minimum fleet size is to be 10 vehicles in order to provide adequate response times within the service area.

4.3 License applications for smaller, community-based fleets will need to demonstrate reasonable response times within a correspondingly smaller defined service area.

5. Service Area

5.1 The service area for licensed vehicles may include two or more neighbouring municipalities subject to all trips beginning and/or ending in the City of Vancouver.

5.2 The service area may also include the Vancouver International Airport, and/or the University Endownment Lands (UEL), subject to the agreement of the appropriate governing authorities.

6. Operational Requirements

6.1 Only passengers who have pre-booked with the operator in advance of the trip, providing confirmation of name and telephone number, may be carried. Vehicles are prohibited from picking-up passengers who attempt to hail down the service.

6.2 All trips undertaken by vehicles licensed in the City must begin and/or end in the City of Vancouver. Vehicles licensed in other municipalities may drop-off passengers in Vancouver, but can pick-up in Vancouver only if the requested destination is outside the City.

7. Time of Operations

7.1 A full service should be available for a minimum of 12 hours each day, and not less than 6 days in each calendar week. However, the operator must ensure that a sufficient number of vehicles be made available at all service times for passenger pick-up and drop-off within the licensed service area.

7.2 Licenses for vehicles that are not providing the required service minimums may not be renewed for the next calendar year.

8. Vehicle Booking and Dispatching

8.1 Each licensed fleet must have an appropriate computerized booking and dispatch system incorporating global positioning system (GPS) technology and including passenger call back provisions and GPS facilities in each van. This would include booking, vanallocation, route determination and the ability to dial a customer directly from the vehicle advising of approximate time of pick-up.

8.2 Shared-ride dispatch systems must operate independently from other existing dispatch systems, including taxi dispatch.

8.3 The shared-ride service dispatch records must be stored at the business office located in the City of Vancouver and be available for review by City staff at all times.

9. Commitments to servicing passengers

9.1 Passengers requesting the service, must at the time of booking, be provided with an approximate pick-up time. When a booking is accepted, the prospective passenger must be picked-up no later than 30 minutes from the approximate pick-up time.

9.2 If the service provider is not able to provide the service within this time, the prospective passenger must be notified no less than 30 minutes before the approximate pick-up time through the dispatch system's call back provisions.

9.3 Preference will be given to those service providers that are capable of calling back the passenger within ten minutes of the approximate pick-up time with the vehicle's estimated time of arrival.

10. Designated Boarding Locations

10.1 In the Downtown Peninsula, west of Main Street, vehicles are permitted to pick-up/drop-off passengers only at the following designated boarding locations:

10.2 Passengers boarding outside the Downtown Peninsula can be picked-up/dropped-off at any safe, easily accessible curbside location, with the exception of existing bus stops.

11. Granville Mall

11.1 Vehicles are not permitted on Granville Mall.

12. Service Fares

12.1 The shared-ride operation is to utilize a flat-rate fare system with pre-determined rates based on designated zones to be established by the Motor Carrier Commission.

12.2 The applicable fares and designated zones must be displayed within each licensed vehicle in a location clearly visible to all passengers.

13. Fleet Ownership

13.1 All vehicles must be owned or leased by a registered company licensed in the City of Vancouver which keeps an established place of business in accordance with applicable zoning regulations and a business telephone and telephone listing under a trade name.

14 Driver Requirements

14.1 All drivers must be employees of the registered company which owns or leases the vehicles and is licensed in the City of Vancouver.

14.2 All drivers must possess a valid chauffer's permit.

14.3 All drivers must wear an assigned neat and clean uniform.

14.4 All drivers are required to successfully complete the existing TaxiHost Level I training required for all taxi drivers. The City will be investigating the possibility of further specialized training for shared-ride van drivers, in conjunction with the MCC and licensed operators, and such training may be applied further to a review of the service.

14.5 All drivers must be guaranteed the provincial minimum wage and other employment standards as prescribed by the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

15. Vehicle Requirements

15.1 The age of the vehicle at point of licensing is to be no older than two years of the date of manufacture.

15.2 All vehicles will be retired within a maximum of five years from the date of manufacture.
15.3 Vehicles in the same fleet owned by a single registered company are to be the same colour to distinguish the service from other transportation providers.

15.4 All vehicles must have the following:

16. Vehicle Safety and Maintenance Requirements

16.1 All vehicles must:

17. Licensing Requirements

17.1 Proof of MCC approval is the first criteria in granting licenses for shared-ride vehicles. All applications with MCC approval will then be evaluated on their ability to comply with the other terms and conditions as set out in the service model.

17.2 The license fee per vehicle will be $296.

17.3 Vehicle licenses are to be non-transferable.

18. Enforcement

18.1 Part-time enforcement staff with the capability to issue tickets will be hired to observe and ensure compliance of shared-ride services with all on-street regulations throughout the City, including the Downtown peninsula west of Main Street. Funding for the staff is to be recovered through license fees.

18.2 City staff will review the operation's dispatch records and monitor dispatch activity directly.

18.3 All complaints received by City staff regarding any aspect of the shared-ride van operation will be investigated and addressed.

18.4 On-the-spot driver and vehicle checks will be conducted by the Police and City Inspectors.

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