Town discusses potential changes to local taxi bylaw

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Town of Strathmore council discussed the Taxi Bylaw, 16-14 during the regular council meeting, June 12, seeking more information from administration regarding potential amendments.

According to administration’s report, the current bylaw has been in place since the fall of 2016, and was set to be reviewed, as per the town’s current practice. 

As it stands, the current bylaw has been identified to contain a number of grammatical changes which are intended to provide better clarity for taxi operators and staff in regards to the regulation of the bylaw. 

Any grammatical changes implemented should eliminate any ambiguity within the bylaw for taxi operators as well as staff, and proposed changes are anticipated to cause minimal impact.

“We have had some previous conversations with representatives from the two Strathmore taxi companies here, and the majority of those changes, they are in favour of, and they understand,” said Mark Pretzlaff, director of community and protective services. “We have added some new definitions for a caregiver, and updated our peace officer definition, we have made a revision to the section in the broker license – just a grammatical change … revisions to the chauffeur license sections giving more clarity and requiring certification approval for first aid and CPR, and then revisions to the mechanical inspection section, just to ensure that there are more regular inspections of the vehicles … and lastly an update to the … penalties.”

Going forward, administration has suggested for the bylaw to be reviewed on a period of three to five years. 

Should the amendments be approved, administration will ensure both internal and external stakeholders are informed of the changes and are aware of the bylaw. 

The current Taxi Bylaw was approved by Town of Strathmore council in 2016 as part of the current practice of reviewing policies and bylaws. 

In its current iteration, the Taxi Bylaw has been identified to not align with current practices and provides clarity to the public, operators, and staff.

The report submitted to council indicated both taxi companies local to Strathmore and Wheatland County expressed concerns over amendments requiring first aid and CPR training for drivers, as this requirement is unique to Strathmore.

Representatives from Strathmore Taxi and Wheatland Taxi appeared before Town of Strathmore council, November 2022 as a delegation to discuss the Taxi Bylaw, and the possibility of establishing a moratorium on new taxi licenses.

The information presented to council during the June 12 regular meeting, as well as the subsequent debate was accepted as information.