BY BILL BRADLEY
Taxi driver Dave Halabiski is so fed up with a new city bylaw he feels harasses him and fellow drivers he has taken the time to write a letter to City of Greater Sudbury Mayor Dave Courtemanche.
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He also is considering relocating his family to southern Ontario.
Why? All city taxi drivers are now required to take an expensive training course, regardless of how much experience drivers have accumulated. Failure to receive a 70 per cent passing grade means loss of employment.
As of Sept. 1, 2004 in order to obtain and retain a taxi driverÂ?s license, a person must attend and complete the Taxi Driver Training Course offered by Cambrian College.
Halabiski says drivers were given little notice to pay the up front $203 cost for the course.
However, Bryan Gutjahr, chief taxi inspector and Manager of By-Law Enforcement Services for the City of Greater Sudbury, says taxi drivers are getting a deal in Sudbury.
Â?In Ottawa the same course costs $700 and is spread over 30 days,Â? said Gutjahr. Â?Toronto drivers pay $450 and you need 80 per cent to pass and there is an 18-month waiting period.
Â?What is happening is that all over the province the public is demanding better service from the taxi industry so we are responding to public concerns and from business groups like the Chamber of Commerce.Â?
The price and length of the course are minimal compared to what cab drivers in most jurisdictions across Ontario have to endure to keep their licence, said Gutjahr.
Â?Our course is offered at various times including weekends and we are prepared to offer more of them over the summer,Â? he said.
Gutjahr was responding to complaints from drivers there was insufficient notice given and that drivers on shifts had to give up revenue in order to take the course.
The taxi driving course is an outgrowth of a new taxi and limousine bylaw initiated by the last city council in late 2003.
City Clerk Tom Mowry said there was an extensive public consultation process undertaken with the public, commercial fleet drivers and owners in
preparation of the bylaw.
Â?We have never consulted so extensively on a bylaw before in the 30 years I have been here, I volunteered weekends to call stakeholders,Â? said Mowry.
Ottawa taxi expert and economist Dr. Dan Hara was hired to help produce the bylaw, said Mowry.
But Ken Flinn, co-owner of Lockerby Taxi, said that consultation did not extend to the actual taxi course developed by Cambrian College.
Â?There is nothing in the course curriculum on first aid, personal grooming, how to deal with an accident, how to check whether your cab is safe to drive at the beginning of their shift as is standard with school bus drivers, for example,Â? said Flinn.
He says experienced drivers should either have a different course or just be allowed to write the exam.
Â?I have no problem with what the city is trying to do but they have to involve the fleet owners and drivers in developing that course,Â? he said.
Flinn believes the City and Cambrian College are moving too quickly in implementing the course.
Â?They are just lifting examples of course material from other cities like Toronto that are not relevant here,Â? he said.
Halabiski says drivers are so upset they are considering a one day work stoppage.
Â?Good luck looking for a cab then,Â? he said.
