Uber in Yellowknife? Some say yea, some say nay

Some residents of Yellowknife say they would be in favour of ride-hailing companies like Uber or Lyft operating in the city.

"I think more options are better for the consumer, right, if it's competitive and there's enough demand then I think it's a good idea," said Dan Coombs, who's taken Ubers to get around cities elsewhere in Canada.

Coombs said he thinks bringing ride-hailing services to the city would give people another way to make money, if they want to be a driver — but with a strong taxi community already established in Yellowknife, the city would have to navigate that first.

Yellowknife isn't currently looking at allowing ride-hailing, but at a council committee meeting on July 22, councillors agreed that if they hear support from residents in the next month or so, they could revisit that.

That's because they're already looking to update Yellowknife's taxi bylaw — a matter that's set to come before council on Aug. 26.

Abdel Karim Shalu, a taxi driver in Yellowknife, told CBC it's not an idea he'd be on board with.

He said he's seen taxi services grow substantially in the city since he arrived in 2014. The arrival of ride-hailing companies would have an impact on the taxi industry, he said.

"There is no positive at all," he said.

No interest from public yet, city says

At the July 22 governance and priorities meeting, Yellowknife councillors heard that no one has approached the city yet about operating ride-hailing services.

City staff said that's part of the reason they aren't recommending allowing ride-hailing companies right now.

If councillors do decide to go down that path, it would take staff many more months to draft a bylaw.

During discussion, councillors debated whether it would still be a good idea to do public consultation on the idea, though they ultimately decided against it.

Coun. Steve Payne said the city should be prepared, in case people do show interest.

"Doordash came in pretty quick and nobody expected that. Airbnb came in with a vengeance. These are all things that I think we need to be up on," he said.

He also pointed to his own experience of using Uber in southern Canada, noting he felt they bring "the whole game up for everybody, and [make] people want to keep their cabs and cars in better shape."

Coun. Rob Warburton said he doesn't think ride-hailing is something that needs to be in the bylaw that's set to come to council on Aug. 26 and would be putting the cart before the horse.

"We're talking about regulating something that no one has asked for or talked about," he said.

Coun. Cat McGurk said while public consultation isn't necessary right now, there's a case to be made for ride-hailing services being safer than cab rides because people can publicly rate Uber drivers.

The proposed amendments to the taxi bylaw that will come before council on Aug. 26 include an increase in meter fees, mandatory security cameras in cabs and a measure to allow drivers to request a deposit before a trip.