There's little doubt in Coun. Betty Irwin's mind that the consultations by Outside the Cube will help the city determine where it wants to go in regulating the local vehicle-for-hire industry.

"I think this will help us a great deal to proceed in a rational manner,” she said Tuesday evening following a public meeting on the issue.

Irwin acknowledged the city will likely need to take its time considering any changes to bylaws governing the industry.

Irwin also commented on the "breach of trust” cab drivers and owners seem to have with the city.

The consultation, she said, seems to be going a long way in dealing with that and defusing the frustration and anger the industry first expressed over potential changes to the regulations.

She was the only member of council to attend the approximately two-hour session at the High Country Inn hosted by Outside the Cube, the company contracted by the city to do the consultation.

The city opted to spend $15,000 to get the company to do the consultation after the city heard strong opposition from the cab industry to two proposed vehicle-for-hire bylaws – one that would govern limos and another to govern cabs and other hired vehicles – which were drafted early this year.

The city currently has one bylaw governing both limos and other vehicles for hire.

Many drivers and owners spoke out against the sweeping changes, ranging from language requirements to uniforms. They also noted their distrust of bylaw officials who would write the bylaw.

That led the city to hire Outside the Cube as an impartial third party to conduct the consultation.

Last night's public meeting marked the final opportunity in the consultation for anyone to speak out on it, with most of the dozen or so who came being a driver or owner of a local cab company.

Throughout the session, Outside the Cube president Dee Enright brought forward the results of both stakeholder meetings, surveys and a separate survey it had DataPath Systems of Marsh Lake conduct to obtain a statistically valid response from the general public.

"I don't think people are as far apart as they think,” Enright noted after presenting the results. Both the industry and users want to ensure there is a good service provided, she added.

It's deciding how to do that where opinions vary, she said.

Among the comments from the public, she said most people believe there should be regulations for mechanical inspections, maintenance standards and cell phone use, If cell phones are to be used, many people stated, they should be hands-free.

Most had no problems with cell phones being in the cabs, but thought how they are used should be governed.

As a number of cab drivers and owners pointed out last night though, mechanical inspections are already required by the city every six months.

Another common suggestion from the public and stakeholders was having a length of time where a driver is conviction-free, but applying a full ban from driving a cab for those convicted of sexual offences.

A number of women and youth organizations spoke of the vulnerability they experience in taking cabs. They have few options at times for transportation, with buses not available evenings and Sundays.

Residents also spoke of their concern about the possible drug deals, liquor deliveries and drivers trading rides for sexual favours they've heard may be happening in the cab industry.

While that may not be the reality, Enright said, that is the perception. Industry officials may want to the think about how to go about changing that image with the public, she added.

As she questioned the drivers and cab owners about what their feelings were if they hear of a passenger being assaulted by a driver, they stated their outrage, with one industry official noting the impact such a reputation had on his company.

It was a couple of weeks ago that another driver with his company picked up a passenger who accused the driver of inappropriately touching her. Contacted by the passenger, he told her to call the RCMP to report the situation. A lengthy meeting with police followed, with officers also looking at the trip log.

After looking at the log book, police soon informed the company "there was absolutely nothing” to the woman's claim, with the record book essentially serving as the evidence to show the driver had done nothing.

For the company though, it meant losing a driver who quit and has said he will never drive a cab again because of the false accusation.

As Enright pointed out, that's a good example of where a regulation – in this case, being required to keep a trip log – has worked to the benefit of the cab company.

When the bylaw was first brought forward earlier this year, many cabbies took issue with the proposed regulation.

They argued that many – such as a dress code – were business decisions that should be made by the company rather than being necessary for the safety of the public, such as the mechanical inspections currently required every six months.

That's a view shared by the public, Enright said as she reviewed the results.

"The public didn't think you should be regulated up the yin-yang,” she told the cabbies, again stressing the primary concern was safety.

Many, for example, recognized that as a country with two official languages, cab drivers should be able to speak at least one of the two languages and, in Whitehorse, knowledge of the English language is a benefit. As long as the drivers get passengers safely from point A to point B, it's not an issue what language they speak though.

It was only after Outside the Cube changed how the question around languages was worded though that it got that answer.

Initially, when interviewers questioned users generally about language, many complained of the profanity they've heard from drivers.

"That came up over and over again,” Enright said. She later suggested cab companies have essentially received a free focus group study on how the industry can improve.

Another area many said the city doesn't have a role in is regulating how cabbies dress for work.

Heather McIntyre, who manages the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel, and was at last night's meeting, said she would love to see cabbies wear uniforms, but there's no way to regulate that.

"I wouldn't want the city to come in and tell me (how my employees should dress),” she said.

As driver Woody Boychuck pointed out, customers don't have to take his cab if they don't want to for any reason – perhaps even not liking his look.

After presenting the findings of the consultationTuesday evening, Enright said she will incorporate additional comments from the meeting into the results she brings forward to the city in the coming weeks.

All the comments the firm has received will be available, verbatim, in the report, she said.