Discount sale coming to a taxi ride near you

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

In a push to allow taxicabs to be more competitive with the ever-expanding transportation-for-hire business, the corporate services committee recently agreed to allow cabs to offer discounts on their fares.

If passed through council, taxis would be allowed to offer a discount of up to 10 per cent on their fares, something that is already done for senior citizens in the majority of GTA municipalities.

The discounts would not be a mandatory implementation and would be at the taxi driver’s discretion.

Councillor Nancy Diamond fought the idea, claiming allowing taxis to provide discounts would render the taxi’s meter useless, especially when the city is currently in the process of working on establishing new rates for taxi fares. (That report will come before a special meeting of council scheduled for today, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m.)

“I have deep concern with this recommendation,” she said. “Why are we going through all the process…and then saying it doesn’t count. You either have a meter rate, or you don’t.”

Diamond also said the discounts would not address the large issues faced by the taxi industry, and would only address a small part of the problem. She also suggested it may have an adverse effect, taking money out of taxi drivers’ pockets.

“Putting an even greater onus on the industry, but it’s going to be the drivers that take the hit,” she said.

However, Diamond was alone in her sentiments as the idea was a popular one with the remainder of the committee.

Councillor Rick Kerr says the discounts would give taxis a competitive edge in the industry.

“This is a free market business and it’s a competitive business,” he said. “I think they need some interim measures to allow them to compete and survive.”

He also said that the option should be available, whether companies want to implement discounts or not.

“Surely, that is a discussion between the taxicab owners and their drivers,” he said.