Saint John taxi advisory member calls new bylaw 'a big mess'

A long-time member of Saint John's cab community says the new taxi bylaw is creating a big messand it's going to take some work to fix it.

Just one week into the new meter rate taking effect, many companies continue to charge customers the zone rate that has been in place for over a decade.

Paul Ram, whoowns a small fleet of cabs and sits on the city's taxi advisory committee, saidthe new rules are well intentioned, but should have been tested more thoroughly.

• Saint John cab companies plan to charge less than meter rate
• Saint John taxi drivers revive group to fight new bylaw

"Certain fares are too high in my opinion," Ram toldInformation Morning Saint Johnon Thursday.

"When I raised that question in the committee meeting, they all said, 'No, raises haven't been given to the drivers for the last 12 years.'But instead of getting a raise, they definitely got rage from customers and the industry, so it's not working out."

Information Morning - Saint John12:52Taxi bylaw on meters confusing for customers, frustrating for drivers

Paul Ram is a long time supporter of taxi meters and is a member of the taxi advisory committee. He also owns a small fleet of cabs. He calls the current situation a mess.

Because there is no streamlining, passengerscould pay a zone fare on the way to a destinationand, usinga different company on the way back, pay a meter fare.

Ram saidthe new bylaw contains a glitch while it stipulates fares are not to exceed the meter's total, there is nothing in the bylaw saying cab companies cannot chargeless than the meter rate.

"City council should have put in the bylaw clearly that taxi drivers are supposed to charge only meter rates. And they didn't do that," said Ram.

"Council should put ...binding laws for the drivers so they shouldn't break those laws. And if they do, they should be fined."

Committee taking another look

Sgt. Don Metcalf, the city's taxi inspector,said he will enforce the existence of meters in cabsand ensure the drivers have proper licences.

He saidthe matter of which fare is being charged will have to be sorted out by the city and the taxi advisory committee.

However, Metcalf saiddrivers have been warned that the Canada Revenue Agency has been informed about the situation.

A city spokesperson said the taxi advisory committee has been tasked to take another look at the bylaw.

Ram says it will have to remove the loopholesand take a more comparative approach to the zone system.

"The meters should be retested until they come close to the zone fare, and that fare should be calibrated in the meters," he said.

"Drivers need a raise, there's no doubt, but they don't need such high raises that they feel customers are being gouged. I think if everybody agrees, all the taxi stand owners have to be on the same page."

Ram wants the taxi stand owners included in the committee's discussions.

Changing the rate would require an amendment to the bylaw, a process that,under normal circumstances, couldtake two to three months.