Have your say on Cobourg's Taxi Bylaw

By Cecilia Nasmith

The Town of Cobourg's Legislative Services Department is seeking input from taxicab owners, their passengers, and members of general public on the current state of the taxicab bylaw and the services provided locally by that industry.

Taxicab Bylaw 014-2014 licenses, regulates and governs taxicab owners and drivers, with amendments 088-2016 and 013-2019 setting out particulars on licensing and inspection.

Following comments the Town has received in recent years from passengers, as well as taxicab owners and drivers, Cobourg council has directed Legislative Services staff to conduct public-engagement research to explore concerns that have been expressed.

“We recognize there is opportunity to explore the bylaw, as well as the potential of a ride-sharing or vehicle-for-hire program, and we look forward to receiving input to help guide council's decision,” Legislative Services Department manager Brent Larmer said in the press release.

The announcement listed four objectives for the public-engagement process on behalf of the Taxicab Bylaw:

• Provide comment and dialogue on the incorporation of ride-sharing and vehicle-for-hire operations within the town's bylaw.

• Gather feedback from four specific audiences – taxicab passengers, taxicab drivers, taxicab owners and members of the general public who reside in the Town of Cobourg.

• Provide perspective on the current state of the bylaw.

• Provide insight on taxicab services in the town.

Citizens are invited to share their feedback by Sept. 23, through the survey at engagecobourg.ca and by joining on-line forums to provide additional comments or ideas. This can be done by visiting www.engagecobourg.ca and registering as a new user,

Powered by Bang The Table and managed by the town's Communications Department, Engage Cobourg allows citizens to follow progress and participate in engagement opportunities to help shape projects, policies and initiatives within the community by providing feedback through on-line forums, surveys and story submissions.

The results gathered from the Taxi Bylaw engagement will be included in a staff report for council's consideration at the regular council meeting on Nov. 25. A public meeting on the issue will be scheduled early in 2020.