Ottawa ride-sharing companies agree to hike accessibility fee to 10 cents per ride

In this Jan. 31, 2018, file photo, a Lyft logo is installed on a Lyft driver's car in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

OTTAWA — Ride-sharing companies have agreed to pay more for an accessibility fee to the city of Ottawa, but it's not the 30 cents a ride charge Council was hoping for.

A report for the Community and Protective Services Committee shows the private transportation companies licensed in Ottawa have increased the Voluntary Per-Trip Surcharge to 10 cents a ride, from seven cents a ride.

Councillors were informed this week that the new 10 cents a ride accessibility fee surcharge started in July 2020.

The city of Ottawa does not have the legislative authority to impose a mandatory accessibility levy on Private Transportation Companies operating in the capital. However, each licensed company agreed to a voluntary accessibility per-trip surcharge of seven cents when they launched.

In 2019, Council approved a strategy to use the funds from the voluntary surcharge for programs supporting accessible transportation.  Council also directed staff to negotiate the accessibility surcharge with Private Transportation Companies to increase to 30 cents a ride, inline with a report from KPMG.

Staff say they were only able to negotiate a three cent a ride increase in the fee.

"Following extensive discussions with the Private Transportation Companies licensed in Ottawa, an increased Voluntary Per-Trip surcharge of $0.10 took effect on July 1, 2020," said Anthony Di Monte, Ottawa's general manager of emergency and protective services.

Uber, Lyft and Facedrive all operate in Ottawa.