The Town of LaSalle is doing away with its lone taxi service.
Council has rescinded its Taxi Licensing Bylaw, and as of December 16th, LaSalle Taxi will no longer have a licence to charge fares for those needing to be picked-up in town.
While getting rid of the bylaw ends LaSalle Taxi's time in town, it opens the door to other licensed companies in neighbouring municipalities to cross into LaSalle for a pick-up.
LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya says the town was finally fed up with the complaints it was getting about LaSalle Taxi and decided to take action. "Council was left with little choice. When you get to the point where you're compromising the safety of your community, those depending on that type of service and they're not getting a reliable service, well you have to take action."
"There were a number of complaints from tardiness to not showing up at all," says Antaya. But he stresses there was one issue in particular that sent him over the edge. "The one that actually convinced me that we should be going in another direction was that there were a number of reports that they were actually using cell phones while driving and using it as a dispatch tool — when that happens you're endangering the public."
Antaya says council also wasn't satisfied with the company's defence. "They were saying that a number of the claims were incorrect but, when they're as prominent as they were and as numerous as they were, we had to contradict that — they tried to convince us otherwise but, when it really got down to it, it was a safety issue and I think council went in the right direction."
Other complaints against LaSalle Taxi included the condition of the cabs and a lack of a drivers' licence or Passenger Bill of Rights display.
(AM800 file photo)
The General Manager of Vets Cab in Windsor is applauding the move.
Walt Bezzina says he's pleased LaSalle is deregulating taxis and allowing any licensed cab driver from any nearby municipality to drive in town. "I'm of the opinion though that this should be looked at by all the municipalities. For years, other municipality vehicles have been coming into Windsor and quite honestly we haven't said too much about that."
"Restrictions on pick-ups should not be allowed, says Bezzina. "Uber can pick up anywhere so they have absolutely no restriction on any area so why shouldn't we have the same availability to our people."
With files from Rob Hindi