21 February 2007
Mount 7 Taxi Celebrating Hallcon Victory
Golden British Columbia - A recent application by Hallcon
Crew Transport Inc. has been denied.
The CP Railway transportation company, which sought new special authorization under section 26 of the Passenger Transportation Act,
"to operate passenger directed vehicles along CP rail lines in British Columbia under contract with the rail carrier, including
the communities of Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Cranbrook, Creston, Fernie, Golden, Hope, Invermere, Kamloops, Lillooet, Nelson,
North Bend, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Surrey, and Vancouver. Maximum fleet size is 50 vehicles that accommodate a driver and
not less than seven and not more than 11 passengers".
"We are pleased with the decision," explains Sonya Smith, owner and operator of Mount 7 Taxi in Golden. "We are
thankful for the support we have received from the community. I do believe it made a difference."
Lasting more than five months, the court case finally came to a close in Victoria recently.
While Smith isn't able to say much about the case at this time, her lawyer, Tobin Robbins of Vancouver-based Heenan
Blaikie LLP says the case was a difficult one. He says small taxi companies, like Mount 7 Taxi, were effectively opposing CP Railway,
one of Canada's largest companies.
"I was retained by four taxi companies - Mount 7 in Golden, R Taxi of Revelstoke, Kootenay Taxi of Fernie, and Central Valley
Taxi of Abbotsford - to represent them at the hearing before the BC Passenger Transportation Board into the application by Hallcon
Crew Transport for a licence to haul CP Railway crews along CP Railway's main line in B.C.," Robbins explains. "The Hallcon
application was denied. In my opinion this was a victory for the taxi-using public in Golden and other small communities
in B.C."
Robbins says he took on the case because the taxi companies had a story that needed to be heard by the Passenger Transportation
Board.
Also, he says many small B.C. communities faced the real possibility of losing their taxi service altogether if Hallcon had been
issued the licence.
He says more than 80 percent of Mount 7 Taxi's revenues are earned from trips operated for CP Railway.
Now these taxi companies must wait to find out what their new contract with CP will be.
"The Passenger Transportation Board has made its decision," Robbins explains. "It's up to the applicant, Hallcon, to
decide whether to accept the decision or ask the PT Board to reconsider or apply to the Supreme Court of B.C. for judicial review.
"From the standpoint of Mount 7 Taxi, and the other B.C. companies that haul CP Railway crews, it is business as usual."
He says in 2006, CP Railway paid approximately $5.6 million to more than 15 B.C. taxi companies to haul its
employees.
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