Higher taxi fares could boost Saint John bus use, carpooling

Some Saint John councillors say a proposed taxi bylaw could nudge city residents into other forms of transportation, such as public transit, carpooling or cycling, according to one councillor.

The new proposed taxi bylaw includes installing meters on all the city's taxis and that could lead to an increase in fares for longer trips.

Coun. Greg Norton says those cab customers who are unhappy with the increase may look at new ways to get around the city.

"This could have positive spinoff effects for all kinds of alternative means of transportation ... whether that's from a bike, to carpooling, to city transit, or just hitting the pavement with two feet," Norton said.

The proposed bylawwould put fare meters into cabs and pull any vehicles older than seven years old off the road.

A new rate structure was presented to council that showed some short trips couldbecome cheaper. However, longer rides would cost customers more.

For instance, a trip from the uptown area to the Saint John airport would cost $40, which is about $10 more than under the zone system.

Norton's optimism that higher taxi fares could cause a boost in transit ridership isn't being embraced by other city politicians and officials.

This could have positivespinoffeffects for all kinds of alternative means of transportation.- Coun. Greg Norton

Coun. Donna Reardon, who sits on the Saint John Transit Commission, says she doesn't see meters having much of an impact even though city transit may gain some new riders.

"I think for the examples we were shown last night, I think people will probably pay those extra $2 and still jump in a cab," Reardon said.

Frank McCarey, the general manager of Saint John Transit, also doesn't see taxi meters leading to more riders.

"Meters are fairly common in most places that there's transit systems," McCarey said.

"So I really don't see it having a major impact one way or another on transit."

The taxi bylaw had its first and second readingon Mondaynight, but council passed a motion calling on the city's taxi advisory committee to hold a public meeting 30 days before the bylaw goes before them again.

Coun. Gerry Lowe has been in the cab business for more than 45 years.

He says the fare increases that will come along with the changes will get customers to look elsewhere and that's bad news for taxi companies.

"If the fares are going to go up somewhere like they're saying, yes, they will look around," Lowe said.

"The business will be lost for the cab companies. There's no doubt about that in my mind."