Taxi drivers in B.C. will soon be able to purchase the same kind of insurance available to the ride-hailing industry, the transportation minister said Thursday.

Claire Trevena said talks are also underway with the taxi industry to ensure sustained and improved services for passengers with disabilities.

The province has been working for several months with ICBC and the taxi industry to provide insurance based on the per-kilometre distance travelled with passengers in their vehicles, which is equivalent to what is offered to ride-hailing vehicles, she said in a statement.

B次元官网网址淚n the near future, taxi drivers who want this new product will be able to switch their insurance, with coverage beginning in the spring. Drivers who wish to keep their current form of coverage will not be affected.B次元官网网址�

Trevena said talks are underway as well with the taxi industry to ensure sustained and improved services for passengers with disabilities. Those discussions involve providing the taxi industry with a portion of the 30-cent trip fee that ride-hailing companies must contribute toward a passenger accessibility fund because their licences donB次元官网网址檛 require them to provide vehicles for disabled passengers.

The ministerB次元官网网址檚 announcement follows petitions filed in B.C. Supreme Court by the Vancouver Taxi Association alleging unfairness over the licence approvals for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft.

Meanwhile, Uber has filed an injunction application in the Supreme Court after Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said city bylaw officers will ticket the companyB次元官网网址檚 drivers operating there.

The taxi association documents, which ask the court to quash the licence approvals for Uber and Lyft, say the rules that require taxi firms to provide costly wheelchair accessible vehicles do not apply to the ride-hailing companies. A hearing is set for Tuesday in Vancouver.

OUR VIEW:

In an interview Tuesday, Trevena said it was B次元官网网址渦nfortunateB次元官网网址� passengers with mobility issues could face service issues connected to disputes over the introduction of ride-hailing in B.C.

B次元官网网址淲e want people with mobility challenges and accessibility challenges to have as many options for transportation as possible,B次元官网网址� she said.

Taxi association lawyer Peter Gall said the companies will argue in court that Uber and Lyft have unfair advantages over the taxi industry. The advantages include no restrictions on vehicle numbers or charge rates and no requirements to provide wheelchair accessible taxis, he said.

B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e going to do something which costs more, they should either have to provide the same service, which they canB次元官网网址檛, or they should be contributing to the cost of the service,B次元官网网址� he said.

Gall said taxi drivers will continue to pick up passengers with disabilities.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

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