Transportation Minister Claire Trevena summed up the public mood this week when it comes to taxis and ride-hailing:
“We know that people are frustrated and have been waiting far too long for a solution to the lack of transportation options that are available.”
Clear as can be. Problem acknowledged, by the minister responsible for fixing the problem. You’d almost think she was going to do something about it, ASAP.
But wait a minute.
She said almost exactly the same thing nine months ago. Back in October, while discussing ride-hailing, she observed: “We understand there is a public demand to see this service in place in B.C. sooner rather than later, and we are committed to doing this as quickly as possible.”
Despite that recognition, Trevena was actually moving in the opposite direction with her announcement back then. She was delaying ride-hailing yet again in order to back up and re-study the issues. She has a genius for recognizing public impatience, promising fast action, then dragging out the decision even more, while denying she’s doing so.
Ride-hailing apps would wreak havoc on the taxi business, which is particularly politically influential in metro Vancouver. The industry has chronic problems and routinely leaves much of its customer base under-serviced. But it’s got a lot of clout, and two successive governments have spent a lot of time wringing their hands about what to do about it.
Trevena put off the decision by ordering a study by expert Dan Hara, just on the taxis.
It was delivered this week, a few months later than anticipated. And Trevena continued practising the weird art of frankly acknowledging public frustration and impatience, while at the same time stretching out the delay even longer.
She accepted most of the taxi ideas and promised full steam ahead. But the target date is “the fall of 2019.”
That’s two years past the date promised in the NDP election campaign. In fact, it’s two years past the date all three parties promised in the campaign.
The B.C. Liberal government was no slouch when it came to dithering over this issue. The NDP campaign platform accused them of “flailing about,” creating uncertainty and turning the issue into a political football.
But it looks as if they have learned a lot from their predecessors about pushing off awkward decisions, while denying they’re doing just that.
Here’s the new timeline the government is offering when it comes to addressing the fact that Vancouver is the last major city in North America without a legally recognized ride-hailing service. (Some black market ones are thriving.)
The Transportation Ministry will “immediately begin working” to implement some of Hara’s recommendations.
The main one is increasing the allowable number of cabs by 15 per cent. That’s 500 across B.C. — 300 more in Vancouver and a few dozen more in Victoria.
Sounds promising, but nothing in the taxi business is simple. The number of agencies, companies and jurisdictions makes every move a complicated one.
They also say they’re keen on moving the industry to a phone-app basis. Again … complicated.
Then they’re going to retain Hara again to advise on further consultations, this time including the ride-hailing businesses.
In the meantime, this fall, several bills will be introduced to set the stage for ride-hailing. That adds up to about 18 more months of dithering before the new unspecified target date in the fall of 2019.
That will make it about nine years since the companies first started knocking on B.C.’s door. Trevena not only denies that she’s delaying it all over again, she denies B.C. is behind the times. And after fobbing off the decision for a year, the NDP has pushed B.C. right back to where it was in the spring of 2017, just before the election.
The Liberals finally got off the fence back then and committed to propping up the taxi business and bringing in ride-hailing by Christmas 2017.
Sixteen months later, after studying it all over again, Trevena is committed to propping up the taxi business and introducing ride-hailing by the fall of 2019.
While you’re standing out in the rain on weekend nights this winter waiting for a ride, take comfort in the fact that’s Trevena’s version of “as quickly as possible.”
