MARTENSVILLE — The City of Martensville will sign on to a letter to the Minister Responsible for SGI asking for changes to the Vehicle for Hire Act that would allow for ride share services to operate province-wide instead of having to obtain licences with individual jurisdictions.
The matter was discussed during the July 15 council meeting and was brought forward by community economic development manager Dillon Shewchuk.
Shewchuk told council the city has been pursuing the possibility of establishing a ride-share service in Martensville and the region served by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA).
Martensville actually has established a framework for Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) to operate in the city, but there has not been any interest from these companies to do so, though ride-share services have been operating in Saskatoon since roughly 2019.
Shewchuk noted that at one point, the city (with the assistance of SREDA) was looking at duplicating a similar framework as a regional model used in by the RM of Edenwold, which saw over 10 municipalities working under one framework.
“As we were in the process of trying to duplicate a similar framework, we had engaged with Uber (an American-based ride-sharing company) to get their take on things,” he said. “Basically, for them, the landscape has changed.”
Shewchuk said Uber was no longer interested in pursuing licences with individual municipalities or even regional models.
“The trend now is for them to licence within an entire provincial jurisdiction. That way they’re working under one regulatory framework (and) one set of fees,” he said.
Shewchuk’s report to council also noted there were some challenges locally with the City of Saskatoon not being necessarily willing to be part of a regional framework due to concerns about enforcement outside the city.
Saskatchewan’s Vehicles for Hire Act requires ride share services to obtain licensing in each municipality.
Thus, the letter (which is addressed to Minister Jeremy Harrison) calls on the province to consider legislative amendments to allow ride-share services to operate throughout Saskatchewan and, more specifically, the Saskatoon region.
While the letter recommends removing the municipal licencing requirement for TNCs, it suggests the province instead allow municipalities to prohibit these companies from operating in their area by passing a resolution.
The letter states that the introduction of ride share services “would not only enhance the quality of life for Martensville residents, but also strengthen the overall economy of the Saskatoon region” as ride-sharing can help address transportation gaps and create jobs.
Shewchuk acknowledged that the letter would “probably not” lead to any immediate change, but it would hopefully get things moving in the right direction.
Noting the draft letter stated it was being submitted on the city’s behalf “in partnership with all SREDA (members),” Councillor Spencer Nikkel asked if that was actually the case.
Shewchuk said he believed that was the case, but he needed to check on whether Saskatoon would actually support this initiative.
Nikkel also suggested toning down the language of the draft letter, such as a sentence about urging the provincial government to act now and seize this opportunity.
“I want to save my strongly-worded letters for more pressing issues,” he joked.
