Do you care? Should we care? Why do we need a taxicab board to preside over such matters? Should the taxicab board only concern itself with fares and the safety and cleanliness of the cars and drivers only?
Seems Bruce Buckley is a tad arrogant in his tone.
Let the drivers/owners determine how best to protect themselves.
Seems Bruce Buckley is a tad arrogant in his tone.
Let the drivers/owners determine how best to protect themselves.
GETTING a cab in Winnipeg might be a tougher in the new year.
A battle brewing between the provincial taxi board and the city’s largest cab company over replacing the old L-shaped driver protection with the new full back shields before the Jan. 25 deadline could leave passengers out in the cold.
In one corner is Unicity Taxi president Gurmail Mangat. He currently has 235 cars flying the Unicity brand — accounting for more than half the cabs in the city — and he’s digging in for a battle with the Manitoba Taxicab Board over the installation, comfort and safety of the new shields.
Here’s the shovel, board chairman Bruce Buckley offered Thursday.
"The game of chicken is over," a bothered Buckley said. "(Unicity) has an obligation as owners to comply with the regulations come Jan. 25. If they don’t, what we will be doing is taking their plates, removing them from the road, and they’ll be issued a provincial offence notice for non-compliance."
Buckley said not only will the cabs be removed from the road, they will be in violation of their Manitoba Public Insurance liability insurance. MPI requires all taxicabs to be in agreement with the provincial regulations.
"That’s what they’re looking at," Buckley said, knowing that not having wUnicity’s cars on the road could seriously disrupt transportation that’s vital for thousands of people in Winnipeg during the coldest part of the year. "If they continue to not comply, then the board will show cause as to whether they should even have a taxicab licence."
Regardless of the penalties, Mangat is prepared to let the deadline pass, citing a number of concerns regarding the protection wall.
He says the new equipment will not recline back, forcing drivers to sit at a 90-degree angle, and points to the amount of room for passengers in the backseat, poor air circulation and reduced visibility for the driver as other issues.
He says customers have voiced their displeasure with the new look to his operators. Because of the "uncomfortable conditions," those people are electing to use larger Town Cars and other vehicles provided by more-expensive transportation services, he contends.
"It’s a question of do or die right now," said Mangat, who prefers the L-shield. "We will lose customers because of these shields and we can’t survive. If they (the taxi board) pull us off the road then that’s their choice. People will have a hard time getting a cab then. It’s up to them."
Mangat says the new full shields offer little protection for drivers, too, adding that if the board and the government were really interested in protecting drivers, they would put more police on the streets. All cabs are now equipped with interior high-resolution cameras and must install by the Jan. 25 deadline an exterior beacon to signal if airthe driver is in distress.
Mangat risks losing the lucrative airport contract as a result of his anti-fullshield stance.
It appears he stands alone in his position.
Duffy’s Taxi, Winnipeg’s secondlargest cab provider (about 160 cars), has remained silent on the issue (calls to the company for comment were not returned) and sources close to the situation say Duffy’s drivers are already starting to have the shields installed.
Spring Taxi (38 cars) had the shields installed before the original deadline (Nov. 1). Spring manager Ken Wiebe said there has been a small adjustment period for both the driver and the fare, but overall everyone seems fine with the full shields.
Steve Strong, owner of Custom Plastic Creations which manufactures the taxi barriers, says he is getting a lot of inquiries from Unicity drivers, stating that they’re feeling pressure from the company to not get them installed.
"I’ve had drivers calling me telling me they’re getting threatened by their bosses that they will be taken off the road if they do it," Strong said.
Strong said his company is stuck in the middle of a political staring contest between Mangat and the board. The cost of getting the new shield installed in a car is about $600.
adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca
