The Municipality of Leamington is making changes to the fares passengers pay for taxicab services.
Council was presented a report earlier this week to make changes to the rates as currently taxicab owners aren't allowed to use meters or apps when driving, and instead charge a flat rate that's set by the municipality.
The flat rate hasn't been updated since the original bylaw was implemented in 2016.
During a meeting in April 2025, council passed a motion to allow taxis to operate on a meter basis, and administration would report back on setting the rates.
Council was presented new rates on Tuesday evening, which included a $4 meter drop rate and then $1.58 per kilometre. Council instead voted to raise the drop rate to $4.25 to match the City of Windsor.
Taxi owners can also now choose to have a "hard meter" or a "soft meter". A hard meter, or traditional meter, calculates fares based on flagged distance and time ranges, and is connected to the vehicle's transmission system. While a soft meter is through GPS technology and calculates distance and fares through a smartphone or tablet.
Matthew Todd, Director of Legal and Legislative Services for the Municipality of Leamington, says drivers will need to show the meter to the customer.
"Whatever meter choice is used by the operator, it will have to be visibly displayed for the passenger. So, we hear from the owners that they're doing it anyway, so not any concern from the industry."
Councillor Heather Latam says she likes that drivers will need to show the meter regardless of the soft or hard meter being used.
"I'm coming from riding in taxicabs for work in Toronto, so my experience is different cabs all the time, and I've actually said stop and let me out because they won't display or because I feel unsafe."
Faoud Nader, co-owner of Leamington Turbo Taxi, says being able to operate on a tablet or phone is a big improvement.
"It's something that I can turn on right now from my phone, and get all the vans on it right away. So through the software that we use, I can create multiple log ins for it, so we could have somebody at town hall who has their own log in, who has access to the system, who can see how the rates are set."
Nader says having the drop rate at $4.25 ensures they can keep the service running at a higher standard.
"People are craving a decent transportation service. People want to be able to book through an app, they want to know they're not being scammed, they want to know the guy riding has his license. They want to know they're in good hands, especially people who are sending their children and things like that."
The updated bylaw will come back to council at a later date for final approval.
The main goal of the bylaw is to ensure public confidence and safety in taxi services, while emphasizing that consumers should perform due diligence before using these services.