Informed by reports from her constituents and the city’s accessibility committee, Ward 2 councillor Lisa Vezeau-Allen plans on putting forth a motion before city council this month that would direct city staff to address gaps in accessible and overnight taxi service in Sault Ste. Marie.
The motion would also seek to transfer jurisdiction of the city’s taxi bylaw from the Police Services Board to the municipality.
“I think there needs to be a deeper dive into what can the taxi companies realistically provide, and also, what do people need - and then finding those gaps,” said Vezeau-Allen, speaking with SooToday Thursday.
Vezeau-Allen has been hearing concerns from people about taxi companies being unavailable between midnight and 6 a.m.
“If the bylaw is not something that is realistic, then how do we look at ensuring that if someone gets out of the ER at two in the morning, there’s an alternative for them to get home if they don’t drive, or they don’t have friends or family that can come pick them up,” she said.
There are also concerns that cab companies don’t have accessible taxis readily available for those in need. According to the taxi bylaw, cab companies with 35 vehicles or less must have at least one accessible taxi available 24 hours a day.
“Earlier in the year there was some concern, especially with people that were doing dialysis, that didn’t have accessible transportation available," Vezeau-Allen said.
COVID-19 impacting level of service, says local taxi company owner
UCAB owner Lesley Cowan told SooToday Friday that her cab company resumed around-the-clock service in the early fall, but it’s limited in terms of night staff due to COVID-19 concerns from prospective cab drivers.
Cowan says the business has lost some cab drivers because they’re unable to clean their vehicles due to mobility issues, or they’re scared of getting sick with COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
“We only have two drivers out at night, so if someone gets called out of town, then you know, we’re down to one. And that’s simply because we were hiring all the time,” said Cowan. “What else do we do?”
Cowan says the Police Services Board’s approval of rideshare companies in the city also has an impact on taxi service locally.
“They did bring the rideshare program, and I think that has to be revisited because that makes our business a lot lighter at night,” she said. “Even if we had the people to put more staff on, I don’t know if that’s going to help us because they set their prices, they don’t have to have a 24-hour office, they don’t have to have an accessible vehicle.
“They don’t have all of those requirements that we do under the same bylaw - they have different rules. So that makes it difficult too.”
Prior to resuming overnight service this past fall, UCAB wasn’t offering taxi service between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. for almost a year. The bulk of its business is usually before midnight, and stay-at-home orders saw people staying in during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we were open 24 hours prior to that, we weren’t getting any business at all,” said Cowan. “Drivers were getting ready to quit unless we put them on days, so we didn’t want to lose those drivers, so we held on to them until things started to reopen.”
Cowan is encouraged by Vezeau-Allen’s forthcoming pitch to transfer jurisdiction and enforcement of the taxi bylaw from the Police Services Board to the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
“I think that our police services have way more important things that they need to take care of than the taxi bylaw,” said Cowan. “I think having the city have a good relationship with the companies - the cab companies, the transportation companies - I think is probably better.”
Vezeau-Allen, meanwhile, made it clear to SooToday that she isn’t casting blame upon local taxi companies for those gaps in service, but is definitely searching for solutions amid public concern.
“We have to take a look at what is the need, and how do we get there,” she said.
Vezeau-Allen told the Police Services Board last week that she’ll work with Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson and City of Sault Ste. Marie Chief Administrative Officer Malcolm on the drafting of the motion that’s anticipated to be put forth to council in mid-December.