To: City of Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robertson

I would like to call your attention to a matter that is occurring within the taxi industry in the City
of Vancouver. This under the table activity has been occurring for many years and has upset
many taxicab drivers and customers.
The activity I mention is a bribe. A bribe paid to a doorman or a hotel staff in the form of a $5
bill to pick up a fare going to the airport. In certain hotels, whenever a hotel guest is in need of
taxi to the airport, some individual in the hotel staff calls a phone number. This phone number
connects to a taxicab driver, and this driver comes to the location and hands the caller a $5 bill
and picks up the passengers and takes the passengers to the airport, regardless if there are taxis in
front of the hotel or in the taxi zone.
This has become a network within Vancouver Taxi. To many taxicab drivers it is known as a $5
airport trip in which a taxicab driver pays to pick up an airport fair. At many times the driver
jumps the line at a taxi stand or in special cases picks up the fare at a rear alley or a loading dock.
In fact it has become such an advanced network that one person operates it and has gives these
trips to other drivers that are associated with him. Particularly at the helm is the driver of V53 of
Vancouver Taxi, who along with his associates runs this sophisticated network with immunity.
For a while this happened, until the Board of Management at Vancouver Taxi became aware of
this occurring. However, instead of curtailing this network and swiftly prohibiting it, the Board
of Management became involved in the network and has participated in it from time to time and
not a single effort to ban such a network was made. To a point when certain Board Members
spoke up against this, they were simply kicked off the board and even the manager has been
incapacitated by the Board when enacting against this issue.
As this network grew and Management failed to respond to it, the network became complex to
avoid detection. At times customers would be escorted to unsafe back alleys, since their where
taxicab drivers waiting at the stands. To go unnoticed of the ludicrous earnings and to avoid
paying excessive taxes, these taxicab drivers zero the taxi meter and do not hand in a trip at the
end of the shift as required per law. Corruption is so rampant that the company dispatchers
receive a pay off as well.
This network has rigged the whole taxi industry of Vancouver. Many drivers are disgruntled and
distraught of raising their voices over and over again and lack of effort from the Board of
Management. In simple terms its unfair for the taxicab drivers, the consumers, and most of all
the City of Vancouver.
Many drivers waiting aimlessly at a taxi stand for hours or in front of hotels for a trip would be
front loaded or back loaded by this network and have to wait longer for a trip. My encounter with
this network came on 14 August 2014, I picked up a dispatch: an 8:30am time call for two vans
at the Barclay Hotel at 1431 Robson Street going to the airport. I was driving car V56, and was
the first to arrive at 8:28am. Momentarily car V44 then V36 arrived hastily.
At first I was taken aback and began to wonder why an extra van showed up, since the dispatch
was for two vans only.
Shortly its 8:30am, I again began to wonder that the passengers have not come out of the hotel.
Then the driver for car V44 approaches me and asks me whether there was a ship in today and
make small talk. Next he asked me who sent me here, he asks did car V53 send you here? as to
imply that V53 had brokered the $5 airport trip. I replied dispatch and showed him the
dispatch; then he asks me that did I know V53, I reply no. Later he requests me to go inside and
becomes persistent.
Everything became suspicious when: the driver for car V44 tried to force me to go inside the
hotel and pay off the hotel staff. I became astonished at this moment and began to think first its
a dispatch and now V44 is forcing me to pay the hotel staff to pick up the trip to the airport. Not
only that but he persistently insisted that I go inside the hotel and talk the hotel staff after I had
refused. Under no circumstance had I the reason whatsoever to leave my place of work and go
enter the lobby of the hotel. For safety concerns and to avoid a confrontation with anyone, I
choose not to step outside the vehicle.
In reply to V44s prompt, I made him understand that I was dispatched to the address and first to
arrive at the site, and wasnt about to engage in this $5 airport trip sale. Then V44 becomes
sympathetic in his tone and became agreeable and understanding.
Thereafter I see both V44 and V36 go inside the hotel, and then my dispatch gets suspiciously
cancelled.
It was an airport trip that was bought for $5. Since I did not buy in dispatch cancelled my trip.
Its a nuisance, this $5 airport trips.
Taken the higher ground, I rebook in the zone and got another dispatch. I wanted to stay and
confront both drivers in front of the customers as they loaded luggage for the airport, however I
decided not to since this would have resulted in defacing our company Vancouver Taxi, and for
the customers to lose faith in the taxi industry after seeing two taxicab drivers arguing.
Not only I myself am distraught with this occurring, but the all the taxicab drivers in the city of
Vancouver. Every driver knows about this $5 airport trip occurring in Vancouver Taxi and
most of all the ineptness of the Board of Management at Vancouver Taxi.
It is an outrageous notion that the Board of Management at Vancouver Taxi has failed time and
time again to prohibit and reprimand such heinous buying of $5 airport trips within Vancouver
Taxi. In fact it is simply scandalous that the Board of Management has allowed for this activity
to occur without an effort to curtail this network. This network has become so notorious that all
the drivers of city of Vancouver are disgusted at Board of Management of Vancouver. In fact it
is now a known among taxicab drivers of Vancouver that the Board of Management also benefits
and is involved engages in this activity to its highest level.
The Board of Management at Vancouver Taxi should be ashamed of being in a position of
authority and power and to take advantage and betraying the trust of its own taxicab drivers.
Simply this is unfair to all the taxicab drivers of Vancouver.
As cited in the New York post 16 JFK taxi dispatchers busted for taking bribes from queue-
jumpers; dispatchers where arrested for taking bribes from taxicab drivers. However within the
By-laws of City of Vancouver there is no notion of commercial bribes. The City of Vancouver is
being robbed of its taxes and fair competition. The majority of taxicab drivers and I, after the
Managing board at Vancouver Taxi has failed us; request the City of Vancouver cease this
network and to make By-laws to making it a punishable offense to buy $5 airport trips and to
bring fairness and equality to all taxis operating within Vancouver, to the consumers and most
of all to the City of Vancouver.

Sincerely,


Harpreet Sandhu