{"id":192829,"date":"2018-12-07T01:13:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T06:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=192829"},"modified":"2018-12-07T01:13:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T06:13:04","slug":"saskatchewan-approves-ride-hailing-rules-municipalities-to-determine-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/12\/07\/saskatchewan-approves-ride-hailing-rules-municipalities-to-determine-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"Saskatchewan approves ride hailing rules, municipalities to determine operations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Both Uber and Lyft said in separate statements that they look forward to working with municipalities to update bylaws. (File Photo<\/a>: www.quotecatalog.com<\/a> via Stock Catalog\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

REGINA \u2014 Saskatchewan has approved ride-hailing regulations but it could be a while before companies and drivers hit the road in the province’s two biggest cities.<\/p>\n

Rules are to take effect on Dec. 14 but the minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance said he doubts services such as Uber or Lyft will be available then.<\/p>\n

Joe Hargrave said cities still have to pass their own regulations and service likely won’t begin until early next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m disappointed,\u201d he said Thursday, adding he wanted consultations concluded before approving the regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have preferred to have done it two or three months ago but I didn’t want to rush it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskatoon has already passed preliminary bylaws around ride-hailing and Mayor Charlie Clark said he’s heard some companies may be ready to operate by the end of the year but wouldn’t say which ones.<\/p>\n

The next Saskatoon city council meeting is Dec. 17, but Clark said it’s possible a special meeting could be called next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been some desire for sure to try and have (ride-hailing) in place for the busy Christmas season,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe really are ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s a different situation in Regina where city staff are still writing a report, which will contain a proposed bylaw. It isn’t expected to be presented to city council until early next year.<\/p>\n

Mayor Michael Fougere said he’s been talking to the taxi industry, ride-hailing services and members of the public but wanted the provincial regulations in place first \u201cso that we make sure we have a complete report.\u201d<\/p>\n

The regulations require drivers to pass an annual criminal record check and have their vehicles inspected annually.<\/p>\n

Drivers must have a commercial class or a Class 5 license, if they meet certain conditions. Ride-hailing companies will be required to have at least $1 million in liability coverage for all their drivers and vehicles.<\/p>\n

Uber Canada said Saskatchewan is the first public insurance issuer to create a blanket system allowing companies to purchase a single policy to cover all trips. Drivers will not have to change their personal insurance. B.C. and Manitoba are the only other provinces with a public insurance system.<\/p>\n

Both Uber and Lyft said in separate statements that they look forward to working with municipalities to update bylaws.<\/p>\n

The taxi industry has been opposed to ride-hailing, taking out billboards in Regina. Representatives from the Saskatchewan Taxi Cab Association and Co-op Taxi in Regina did not immediately reply to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Michelle Okere, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, said the company has advocated for ride-hailing and is excited by the potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do want to see more options on the road,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s not about ride-sharing or cabs or public transportation. It’s about having a variety of options for people, especially in peak times.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REGINA \u2014 Saskatchewan has approved ride-hailing regulations but it could be a while before companies and drivers hit the road …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":192832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","mauthors-ryan-mckenna","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}