Councillors in Belleville have approved the first reading of an updated vehicle for hire by-law.
The proposed changes were brought forward on Tuesday to reflect the many changes to the vehicle for hire industry including the emergence of Transportation Network Company’s (TNC), such as Uride, in the community and as a result, staff believe the current Taxi Licensing by-law requires modernization.
There will be availability for comment from the public in regards to these changes for the next few weeks, in which, the by-law will appear in front of council again in mid-June.
Some of the changes include updating the by-law to reflect taxi, limousine and TNC operations, not putting a cap on the number of licences which can be issued by the city and allowing operators to establish their own rates for the services they provide subject to submitting a copy of the fares to be
charged and ensuring passengers are made aware of the fares.
Director of Corporate Service Matt MacDonald said staff are actively seeking public comment and feedback regarding the changes.
He said staff are looking at increasing competition in the market and hope this will address some of the issues council has been dealing with for a number of years.
