The City of Red Deer will be looking at guidelines for new regulations being considering for Uber, Lyft and other kinds of designated drivers.
City council will hear a presentation on concepts behind a proposed vehicles for hire bylaw. These will be presented at Monday’s council meeting.
So far, Red Deer has no regulations that apply to Uber or Lyft — only rules for taxis and limos.
But the city will soon be joining many other municipalities in putting some rules in place to ensure public safety for all customers, and to create equity for all driving services, said Erin Stuart, inspections and licensing manager for the city.
At Monday’s meeting, city administration will be sharing some feedback collected from industry stakeholders, customers and other citizens on what they want from a proposed bylaw.
Stuart said efforts were made to consider the needs of the community as a whole.
“The need to ensure safety for the public, drivers and the industry was a primary focus in developing this bylaw. We aimed to reduce red tape for industry, while considering the need to create fair and equitable processes for everyone.”
The goal is to ensure “the sustainability, accessibility and safety of drivers and customers who use and operate vehicles for hire in Red Deer.”
Stuart expects the proposed bylaw to go before council at the Dec. 9 meeting.