SURREY — Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum is promising taxi-drivers that ride-hailing will not be coming to his city cause he won’t grant them business licenses despite the fact that it is not his jurisdiction.
McCallum told a room packed with taxi drivers that he will do everything he can to prevent ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft from operating in Surrey.
He made the comments while attending an emergency meeting of B.C. taxi drivers Tuesday afternoon, where he promised he wouldn’t allow ride hailing to come there.
“From my point of view, we are going to do everything possible in Surrey to stop ride-hailing from coming into Surrey,” McCallum says. “We need a fair playing field so at this stage I’m fully supporting the taxi industry. And I will actually get out and fight for their behalf.”
McCallum says he’s been against ride-sharing services for “many years”, adding he wants to ensure the taxi industry isn’t being left behind with the arrival of companies like Uber and Lyft, reported News 1130.
“Every ride-sharing company needs to have a business license, at least in Surrey, and we fully intend not to issue any business licenses to the ride-sharing companies,” he says. “The taxi industry isn’t being treated fairly because they’re limited in the number of taxi cabs they can have. When ride-sharing companies come in, the government has opened up their arms and said they could have as many as they want. That’s not fair.”
Municipalities do not have the power to refuse business licenses for taxis or limit the number of drivers. The Passenger Transportation Safety Board has the power to determine ride-hailing rules.
