Drivers have since 2019 been forced to pay a $2-per-trip fee meant to cover costs of the commercial curb added at the airport for cabs.
People taking cabs to the Saskatoon airport may have to shell out a few extra dollars after a recommendation endorsed this week by city council’s transportation committee.
The committee recommended that council amend the bylaw governing taxi cab fares to allow drivers to pass a fee charged for trips to the airport on to customers.
Skyxe, the Saskatoon airport authority, charges cabbies a $2-per-ride fee in order to cover costs of a dedicated curb installed for pickups. The fee isn’t included in the city bylaw governing taxi fares, so the drivers aren’t allowed to make passengers pay it.
The issue came to the committee after Skyxe made a request to the city administration regarding a change to the bylaw. The city’s cab brokerages quickly echoed the airport authority’s call.
Ray Bourner, general manager of Riide, the city’s largest taxi provider, told the committee his company and its roughly 130 cars don’t take part in the airport’s official licensing program. He said this is because Riide feels it’s unfair for taxi brokerages and operators to absorb the $2 curb fee, and a 60-cents-per-trip licensing fee also charged by the airport.
Bourner called for taxi services to be able to pass on a $3-per-trip fee to customers travelling to the airport to cover the curb fee, the licensing fee and administration costs.
“We’re trying to break even, we’re not trying to get rich,” he said, adding that the airport’s fee is specifically tied to the wear and tear on infrastructure caused by passengers, so should be borne by passengers, not drivers or brokerages who are already facing hefty inflation in maintenance and fuel costs.
Bourner said taxi companies “get” that the airport needs to raise revenue to maintain cab facilities, but he noted that airlines can pass their licensing fees on to customers, as do shuttle bus services and black car operators who fall outside the taxi regulations.
During questions for the administration, the committee heard that only the $2-per-trip commercial curb fee was being discussed because this was all that was in Skyxe’s original request. The 60-cent-per trip licensing fee wasn’t included, nor were the costs borne by brokerages to administer the fees. A city staffer said Skyxe advised them the trip licensing fee was intended to be borne by taxi brokerages, in proportion to their footprint at the airport.
Donauer asked the city administration why it was backing the call to amend the bylaw to allow for customers to pay the fees; he was told a scan of other Canadian cities found such fees are common, and are generally passed on to customers. City staff also noted that having drivers absorb potentially thousands of dollars a year in fees could create difficulties for maintaining a viable taxi system in Saskatoon, as rising expenses could see drivers operating at a loss.
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