City says choice to install safety shields should be left to cab drivers

The City of Saskatoon says the choice of installing safety shields in cabs should be left to individual taxi drivers, instead of making it a legal requirement.

The finding comes after United Steelworkers Local 2014, which represents 212 taxi drivers in Saskatoon, asked the city in January for "an open and frank discussion" on shields to protect the drivers and the public.

• Saskatoon taxi drivers push for safety shields in vehicles

The union's call was spurred by the November 2016 stabbing of Regina cab driver Iqbal Singh Sharma, though Mike Pulak, a Saskatoon staff representative for Local 2014,says there have been incidents in Saskatoon as well.

"We're disappointed that [with] the recent events and accidents that do happen in the industry, that they didn't take a more proactive approach," Pulak said of city administration.

"There's a number of industries that have safety barriers: gas stations that have after-hours safety barriers, bus terminals. Even city hall itself has barriers for the collections fees people in the city hall lobby."

Drivers worry city will appear unsafe to tourists

The city met with 33 taxi drivers and 46 taxi licence owners and held one-on-one-meetings with Local 2014in early March.

The consensus among drivers, according to the city, is that shields shouldn't be mandatory because:

• Installation of safety shields would be costly.
• Taxis are already equipped with safety equipment, such as in-car cameras, panic buttons, and GPS.
• Customer service may be negatively impacted, as taxi drivers would not be able to interact as easily with their passengers.
• Visitors to Saskatoon may be left with the impression the city is a dangerous place.

Most taxis have barriers: councillor

Ann Iwanchuk, the councillor for Ward 3, doesn't buy that last piece of reasoning.

"I've been in taxis all over Canada and the United States and most of them do have barriers. I've never though that I'm entering an unsafe city," she said.

But Iwanchukalso acknowledged that the idea of shields does not have broad support among drivers.

"So I think that has to be figured out amongst them before it comes mandatory," she said.

Pulak with Local 2014 says the union will now attempt an alternate route.

"We're going to push to have the employer do that or us," he said.

Flashing 'Call 911' displays

Pulak said councillors and Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clarkdo understand the union's positions and are "trying to help us come up with other solutions instead of barriers."

"We're looking at panic buttons," he said. "You know, some industries in some cities have a flashing display outside that says 'Call 911' if the driver is in distress; it blinks outside on the bumper. We're looking at things like that."

The city is also arranging safety training sessions this month between taxi drivers and the Saskatoon Police Service.

"These training sessions will provide taxi drivers with information to help ensure their safety, and procedures to follow should they need to contact the police," according to a city memo.

The city will formally present its findings on safety shields plus a proposed passenger cleaning fee of up to $100to the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation on Monday.

• Passenger cleanup fee for Saskatoon taxis gets nod from cabbies, city administration