Recorded vote

That Alderman D. Colley-Urquhart's item of Urgent Business, Revised Green Sheet, Improving Late Night Transportation Options in Response to Alberta's Bill 26, be adopted, after amendment, as follows: WHEREAS the Province of Alberta has introduced new drinking and driving legislation that reserves the strongest sanctions for repeat offenders and for those who are criminally impaired with blood-alcohol content (BAC) over .08, and expands existing sanctions for drivers impaired with BAC from .05 up to .08; AND WHEREAS other jurisdictions such as British Columbia that have introduced similar legislation experienced an increased demand for public transit and taxi service during weekend late-night peak periods; AND WHEREAS The City of Calgary like many other municipal jurisdictions currently experiences a taxi shortage during the winter holiday season particularly during weekend bar closing times between 2:00 am to 3:00 am; AND WHEREAS significant winter weather events have the effect of further reducing the compliment of taxis available to the public during a period already experiencing high demand; AND WHEREAS other large Canadian municipalities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal augment transportation options with public transit during the weekend late-night peak demand periods which complements the available taxi supply; AND WHEREAS Calgarians who require accessible transportation such as accessible taxis are particularly vulnerable at this time of year because their transportation options are limited; AND WHEREAS The City of Calgary has limited the number of taxi licenses at 1411 (3900 Licenced Drivers) which places a responsibility on the City to ensure there are sufficient taxis to provide service the public; AND WHEREAS with Bill 26 the opportunity exists to explore the seasonal, special and night time plate concept with a night time fleet that could work year round from 6 pm to 6 am, and those plates could be used as full service daytime plates during major weather or special events; AND WHEREAS the request for the release of seasonal plates for major events could also be integrated into the TLAC process by Tourism Calgary and/or the Calgary Hotel Association who have a pulse on demand requirements; AND WHEREAS many taxi drivers cite personal safety concerns as one of the primary reasons for not working during the late-night peak period; AND WHEREAS the governance model that has evolved with the Taxi & Limousine Advisory Committee (TLAC) continues to be more effective, and is in receipt of a number of reports from various consultants that provide recommendations on appropriate taxi supply and demand levels; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that TLAC be requested to work with City Administration to jointly explore further opportunities in light of Bill 26 to enhancing transportation service to citizens during weekend, special events and seasonal holiday peak demand periods which may include but not be limited; a) increasing the current compliment of available accessible taxis, b) developing a non transferable special occasion taxi plate licensing program, c) imposing additional requirements and/or conditions on current taxi licenses, including piloting the release of a limited number of non-transferable “night time only plates”, d) alleviating driver safety concerns through the mandatory implementation of safety shields, e) developing complimentary options and cost to expand transit service. And report back directly to Council with options including an evaluation of the associated risks with implementing the proposed options, no later than 2012 April 23. And further, that the in-camera discussions with respect to Alderman D. Colley￾Urquhart’s Motion “Revised Green Sheet, Improving Late Night Transportation Options in Response to Alberta’s Bill 26” remain confidential pursuant to Sections 16 (1)(a), (b) and (c), 17(2)(g), 21(1)(a) and 24(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP).