Town passes taxi bylaw amendments

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Following several amendments, the Town of Strathmore passed Bylaw 24-06, being the Taxi Bylaw during the July 17 regular meeting.

This bylaw has been in place in Strathmore since 2016, and as per current practices, was brought to the attention of council for review by administration. 

Town administration had met with representatives from Strathmore Taxi and Wheatland Taxi to discuss the proposed changes to the bylaw prior to bringing the amendments to council.

Both companies had expressed concerns regarding requirements for first aid and CPR training for drivers, as that requirement had been unique to Strathmore. 

Several grammatical changes were identified by administration in order to provide better clarity for taxi operators and staff regarding the regulation of the bylaw. 

The idea being to eliminate any ambiguities within the bylaw for taxi operators, as well as staff. Administration indicated there would be minimal impact to taxi operations or enforcement based on the proposed changes to the bylaw. 

“We have included some new definitions for caregivers, peace officers, public conveyance, and taxis, we have made some revisions to the broker licenses, some grammatical changes and as directed by council, some removal of the requirement for a 24-hour dispatch system,” said Mark Pretzlaff, director of community and protective services for the Town of Strathmore. “We have made some revisions to the chauffeur license sections to provide some more clarity, and eliminated the first aid and CPR requirement, as directed by council. We have also made some revisions to the taxi license section to exclude nonprofit and caregiver vehicles.”

Also included in the revisions were notations surrounding mechanical inspections to ensure more regular inspections, and revisions to the vehicle provisions to make it less onerous for the operators. Sections regarding penalties were also updated.

During the discussion, Coun. Richard Wegener pointed out a discrepancy within the bylaw which had been presented to council referring to municipal elections. 

Council recessed twice during the meeting in order to provide administration time to correct the mistake within the bylaw, as well as to address other concerns council indicated regarding various section wordings. 

Administration was required to make the changes and return a physical copy of the bylaw to council before any votes on readings were allowed to proceed. 

Following the necessary amendments being made to the bylaw during council’s recess, all three readings of the bylaw were passed without opposition.

As per town policies, the bylaw will be reviewed again in three to five years so as to keep it up to date with future council practices and policies.