Halifax rejects report suggesting more accessible taxis

Halifax's transportation committee has killed a plan to issue licences to accessible taxis only, quashing the ideawithoutsending it on to the regional council for consideration.

City staff and an independent consultantrecommended that the issuing of conventionalcab licences stop and be replaced bylicences foraccessible vans only.

Right now there's a limit of 1,000conventional taxi licencesin Halifax, Dartmouth and the former county area.

Conventional taxi licences are only re-issued when one is returnedto the municipality or revoked, whileaccessibility licenses are issued on demand.

Under those rules,only 47 accessible vans are on the road.

Issuing only accessiblelicenses would mean 20 per cent of the taxi fleet wouldbe accessible by 2025, according to the study byHalifax Global Inc. consultantPeter Milley.

This change should not significantlyimpact the livelihood of those who currently work in the industry, the report said. Opening up accessible licences could also shorten the waitlist, it said.

Seventyper cent of the taxi drivers the report surveyedsaid they believed the change would have a negative impact.The councillors on the transportation committeeagreed with the drivers.

Change would hurt drivers: committee

"It has worked, this system here," regionalCoun.Reg Rankin said."The cap on the number of taxis [is]so you can provide a decent livingfor the ones who are in the industry."

The committee members also were not convinced that moreaccessible vans are needed to provide service to those withdisabilities. They said the Access-A-Bus system run by Halifax Transit has improved.

But the consultants said people with disabilities reported difficulty reserving the Access-A-Bus system.Twenty per cent of people with disabilities surveyed also reported long waits for accessible cabs, particularly outside the downtown core.

'Let's develop a passengerbill of rights'

Taxi industry representativesagreed with the moveto kill the proposal, including Brian Herman, the president of Casino Taxi in Halifax.

"This is probably not the best thing to focus on right now," Hermansaid."Let's develop a passengerbill of rights.Let's develop a driver bill of rights."

Drivers said accessible vans can cost around $20,000.

The CBC's Pam Berman live bloggedthe transportation committeemeeting.

Mobile users can read the live blog here.