A recent round of taxi charges that included city councillor Lloyd Ferguson is part of an ongoing two-year crackdown on the unsafe conditions of Hamilton's taxicabs, and part of an attempt to hold everyone involved with the vehicles accountable.
That's why, in an effort to step up compliance, plate owners as well as drivers and car owners are being charged when city inspections find violations
The city has been on a two-year blitz to find safety infractions, from bald tires to smoking in vehicles. It does twice yearly checks, and has done roadside stops with Hamilton Police Services that have led to nearly 150 charges in two years.
'I don't know why they want to chase people away from the taxi industry.'- Jagtar Singh Chahal, CEO of Hamilton Cab
Bylaw officers laid 64 charges in 2013 during a widespread in an effort to make cab owners more compliant, said Ken Leendertse, the city's director of licensing. When infractions kept happening, it laid another 83 charges in 2014.
The sweeps have led to a new city bylaw amendment that cabs must have snow tires by Dec. 15, he said.
"We didn't see any improvement in the vehicles even though they were being warned about not doing log sheets and missing seals or tires not being in great shape," Leenderste said.
"We did that for about three months and didn't see any increase. From that point on, we started to charge drivers."
The increased focus is how Ferguson, who is leasing a plate to a cab owner, ended up with a summons to appear in provincial offences act court on Jan. 16.
Ferguson, an Ancaster councillor and chair of the Hamilton Police Services board, is a shareholder in a corporation that leases four taxi plates. The plate is associated with a vehicle that is allegedly "mechanically unsafe." The plate is leased to a Hamilton Cab owner.
Ferguson told CBC Hamilton on Monday that he isn't sure what the infraction is or what vehicle is involved. He's also not certain why he was included.
"In my view, they should be dealing with the owner of the vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act," he said.
Jagtar Singh Chahal, CEO of Hamilton Cab, hasn't received a summons. And it makes no sense that Ferguson did, he said. He predicts that the judge will dismiss Ferguson and others involved and deal with the vehicle owner.
Crackdowns will 'chase people away'
"Instead of helping us, the city is creating trouble for the taxi industry," he said. "If any driver has done something wrong, charge the cab driver, or charge the operators. Why charge the plate owner?"
There are already safety checks every six months, Chahal said. An on-staff mechanic does inspections for the city twice annually as well.
The blitzes, and charges that loop in everyone involved, are onerous, Chahal said.
"There never has been any accident in which the cab was unsafe, or any case in which public safety was jeopardized," he said.
"I don't know why they want to chase people away from the taxi industry."
Lots of middle men
The practice of charging everyone is designed to cut through "he said, she said" confusion in Hamilton's taxi industry, which has 447 taxis and1,200 drivers, Leendertse said.
The system can get complicated. There are plate owners, such as Ferguson. Plate owners often lease the plates to vehicle owners, which can also be separate from the drivers. That's separate still from the company — such as Hamilton Cab or Blue Line — that dispatches cars.
'The more degrees of separation, the more issues.'- Ken Leendertse, director of licencing
When there's a vehicle infraction, fingers are pointed in all directions, Leendertse said.
"We hear 'I don't own the car' or 'no one told me the vehicle wasn't safe,'" he said. Ultimately, "everyone is responsible. The driver is responsible. The broker is responsible. The plate owner is responsible."
Infractions are less frequent in cases where the same person owns and drives the vehicle. "The more degrees of separation, the more issues," Leendertse said.
Owner/operators have fewer issues
Most of Blue Line's fleet is drivers who own their vehicles, said president Anthony Rizzuto. In those cases, drivers pay closer attention because "that's his livelihood, his bread and butter."
But those drivers also tend to work regular business hours, and many overnight drivers work under the multilayered structure.
With the increased attention, "it's gotten tougher, obviously," Rizzuto said of operating a cab company. But he has few issues with the crackdown.
"I know where the city's going with it, and to be honest, I don't disagree."
Some of Blue Line's 250 vehicles, which already have snow tires, were ticketed during the blitzes, he said.
'Going to find defects' in any fleet, owner says
"You can blitz any vehicle or any fleet from the police department on down and you're going to find defects."
The city still plans to pay close attention to the taxi industry in 2015, Leendertse said. No current blitzes with Hamilton Police are planned, but bylaw staff will be diligent. And drivers, owners and plate owners will continue to be held accountable.
Leendertse doesn't know how Hamilton matches up with other cities when it comes to taxicab infractions. The greater number in 2014, he said, was the result of greater enforcement, not worse cabs.
Infractions are becoming less frequent, Leendertse said, and the industry is improving.
"I'm encouraged," he said. "I've seen a movement. But we've still got a little ways to go."
Common charges in 2013 and 2014:
- Trip sheet available on request: 12
- Operating a cab with the meter seal removed or broken: 13
- Failing to report known defects to owner: 8
- Operating a vehicle not appropriate for use as a cab: 1
- Smoking in the cab: 5
- Failing to provide a copy of insurance: 23
- Not having a copy of licence: 17
- Cab with mechanical defects: 25
- Tampering with on-board camera: 2
- Unlicensed driver: 9
- Failing to check for mechanical defects prior to driving the taxi: 2
- Interfering with traffic in a public place: 2
- Stopping in a prohibited area/illegally parked: 9
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