Whitehorse looks to tighten rules for cab drivers

A list of new rules to improve the safety of taxi passengers in Whitehorse was presented for the first time to city council on Monday.

The amendments to the city's vehicle for hire bylaw are the results of months of lobbying efforts and letter-writing campaigns by local organizations including the Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre and the Yukon Women's Coalition. Their concerns were raised after a local taxi driver was charged last fall with sexually assaulting two female passengers.

After receiving a list of nine recommendations, council directed city staff in January to review the bylaw and draft amendments. Bylaw manager Dave Pruden presented the results of that work on Monday.

The department is recommending that taxis and other vehicles for hire be required to have video cameras in operation whenever the engine is running, and for 30 minutes after the engine is shut off.

Companies must keep video footage for at least seven days.

Bylaw services would also limit the number of licence plates available for the vehicle for hire industry.

The proposed changes also include mandatory multi-day training for all cab drivers. The training would be free until the end of 2018, and then cost up to $350 per driver after that.

Other changes include the ability to disqualify vehicle inspectors whose work is frequently unsatisfactory.

City must 'raise public confidence' in taxis, says councillor 

"I think it's incumbent upon the city to raise the public confidence in the vehicle for hire system that we have here," said councillor Samson Hartland, responding to the proposed changes. "I think you've taken some steps to address that, at least in response to community concerns."

Councillor Jocelyn Curteanu was unsure of the seven-day video footage requirement.

"If someone were to report some kind of an incident, it may not be as immediate as within seven days. It may take longer depending on the offence, and of course the trauma that that person has experienced," she said.

Pruden said companies can choose to keep their video files longer.

Many other jurisdictions only require companies to keep video for three days, he said.

"When I spoke to Calgary just recently, they're looking at moving, I believe, from three to five [days]," said Pruden. "So they were kind of surprised we were going to seven."

He said the "general thinking" is that victims of serious crimes tend to report them "relatively quickly."

The bylaw comes back before council on June 11.