A group of Metro Vancouver taxi companies are trying to overturn the licenses of ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to stop them from operating in the region.
The Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) granted Uber and Lyft the licenses just last week, according to CBC.ca.
The group of nine taxi companies filed an application for an emergency injunction against Uber, Lyft and the PTB that would prevent the ride-hailing companies from operating in the province while their legal challenge seeking to overturn Uber and Lyft’s PTB licenses is pending.
“If the impugned decisions are not stayed,” the application for emergency injunction states, “those decisions will have a devastating and irreparable impact on the taxi industry and the livelihoods of taxi drivers in Metro Vancouver.”
The taxi companies filed the lawsuit almost six months after it asked the B.C. Supreme Court to reject the PTB’s rules on ride-hailing companies. They dropped that lawsuit in September because the PTB indicated that the rules had not yet been finalized. However, when the PTB approved the ride-hailing companies’ applications, it reportedly maintained the same rules on fleet size and pricing that the taxi companies had challenged in the lawsuit.
“The Board has improperly dismissed the impact on the taxi industry by saying, in effect, that the economic devastation the Board is inflicting on them was their own fault for creating a market for taxi shares, and that they should have seen it coming,” the court documents regarding the lawsuit state.
“It is clear, therefore, that in the issuance of its Lyft and Uber decisions, the Board simply applied its Policy Decision, basing its decision on what is considered best for Lyft and Uber, rather than what was best for the public interest.”
Carolyn Bauer of the Vancouver Taxi Association asserts that the group is not opposed to the ride-hailing services, according to GlobalNews.ca. Instead, she says they just want to compete on an even playing field with Uber and Lyft.
In August 2019, the board reportedly determined that there would be no limit placed on the ride-hailing company’s fleet size and pricing. Taxis, on the other hand, are capped at 2,500 vehicles.
Additionally, Bauer takes issue with the ride-hailing companies’ fares, which are not regulated by the PTB. She claims that taxis pay higher insurance rates than Uber and Lyft.
The taxi companies are concerned that the rules favor ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft over the taxi cab industry. They claim that they experienced reduced business the week that Uber and Lyft began operating in the region.
The PTB “completely lied to us,” Bauer says. “All we ever asked for is equality and fairness here.”
If the judge grants the injunction, Uber and Lyft could be prohibited from operating starting as early as February 4, CBC.ca reports.
According to GlobalNews.ca, Uber and Lyft declined to comment, stating that they have not yet reviewed the lawsuit.
Do you believe Vancouver’s ride-hailing regulations create an unfair playing field for taxi companies? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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