After months of consultation, city staff have come up with a new draft of its Vehicle For Hire Bylaw.

They have deleted some earlier proposals for regulations, such as uniformed cab drivers, and added other provisions which would prevent those with certain criminal convictions from ever driving a taxi here.

The changes were presented to media members, the industry and council in separate meetings Tuesday.

"It's a work in progress,” bylaw manager Dave Pruden told reporters.

Information on the bylaw was embargoed until 5 p.m. Tuesday, when a council and senior management meeting was scheduled on it.

The most recent draft comes months after the original update of the bylaw was put forward and met with significant opposition from the cab and limousine industry early this year.

The city opted to hire Outside the Cube to conduct consultations on the bylaw and taxi industry.

After the city received those results, the new draft bylaw was written up. On Tuesday, Pruden continued to emphasize it is only a draft that is coming forward out of the consultation.

Among some of the key changes, Pruden said, is the provision that would prevent anyone convicted of a sexual offence, homicide, kidnapping, robbery or extortion or any offence committed while on duty as a driver from operating a cab.

Currently, those with such convictions are permitted to drive a cab five years after their conviction.

In some cases, that could mean criminals start driving a cab immediately after serving their time in jail.

Those with three or more other Criminal Code convictions, meanwhile, would have to wait five years to drive again rather than the current three.

Those convicted of drug offences – other than simple possession – would have to wait 10 years from the time of completing their sentence to drive again, rather than the current two years.

Pruden said it would be up to council to decide whether drivers who have convictions but meet the current criteria for driving to continue if they don't meet the new standards.

Mayor Bev Buckway said today it didn't seem to be a major issue for cab companies and didn't come up during council's discussion last night.

"It might seem tough, but where do you draw the line?” she asked. It's important for many, including parents who may have their kids using cabs, to feel safe about the industry, she added.

Public safety, Buckway said, is the top priority when it comes to the city regulating the vehicles for hire. Also important is making sure the rules are not so onerous the industry can't operate.

To that end, the new draft moves away from the previous proposal that vehicles be no more than five years old, instead requiring inspections twice a year to ensure they are in good working order.

One cab owner, however, says the city's plan to allow drivers to just have one permit to drive, rather than its earlier proposal that would require a new permit whenever they change companies, is a mistake.

"I disagree with one permit to drive for anybody,” Grizzley Bear Taxi owner Don Francoeur said this morning. In cases where police may be looking for a driver, he added, it will be easier to track them down if they have a record of who they are driving for.

"It should be a concern for the public also,” he said.

The city has also gone back on its previous suggestion that owners carry $3 million worth of liability insurance, instead holding to the current requirement of $1 million after cab companies told them the cost of $3 million worth of insurance is too onerous.

Buckway noted there was also a lot of discussion among council members last night around the decision to take out the previous proposal that drivers not be required to have first aid training.

As Buckway explained, many drivers didn't want to be found liable if there was an incident involving a passenger.

Under the Good Samaritan law, she said, if someone tries to help another in need of first aid and has no training, they're not liable. If they do have training though, they can be found liable.

At the same time, individual companies can offer first aid training to their employees if they choose, she said.

It would also be up to those same companies to decide whether they want to establish a dress code for their drivers.

While the city had initially proposed a dress code as part of its requirements, it has since taken that out after it was argued by a number of taxi owners that what drivers wear shouldn't be a concern of the city.

Through the course of the consultation though, Buckway pointed out, a number of people spoke in favour of more "professional-looking” cab drivers, who are often the first point of contact tourists have with those in the city.

"Hopefully, they took note of that,” she said of the cab companies.

A number of other changes to the draft over the earlier edition would see:

• drivers being required to complete a test to demonstrate a working knowledge of the bylaw;

• all vehicle for hire company owners providing the bylaw department with a list of current employees on the first Tuesday of every month;

• drivers not being allowed to work more hours in a day than is permitted in the Employment Standards Act;

• provisions to permit drivers to refuse service to anyone trying to consume alcohol or illegal drugs in their vehicle;

• fines increased for second and any further offences under the bylaw within a one-year period;

• trip records be kept for at least six months and be presented to an officer if requested;

• all vehicle for hire operators meeting all Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Canadian Association Standards in relation to the transport of people with disabilities;

• vehicles for hire having a licence plate also placed on the front of the vehicle;

• all vehicle for hire books and records being kept in the city;

• personal use of vehicles for hire limited to those holding a permit;

• rates being provided to bylaw on the first Tuesday in November and if there are none provided, the previous fares apply;

• bylaw ensuring compliance with the fare schedule;

• drivers being permitted to drive immediate family members without charging a fare;

• drivers permitted to use hands-free cell phones in lieu of two-way radios;

• warnings issued to perform repairs in cases of minor damage to vehicles, or where there is major damage or a safety concern, the vehicles be taken out of service until they are fixed;

• fees applied to vehicles inspected by bylaw outside of designated inspection dates (such as in cases of new vehicles being added); and

• the city attach any unpaid vehicle for hire fees or fines to property taxes or vehicle for hire licences.

Meanwhile, there are also a number of other provisions the city had been considering in the original draft that are no longer part of it, including:

• restrictions on cell phone use, as it is being dealt with through territorial legislation;

• regulations around food, beverages, radios and sound devices;

• reporting to the city any time a fare is refused;

• that companies provide a listing in the telephone book; and

• regulations on the number of vehicles a company may have.

While no date is set for when the bylaw would come to council for first reading, Buckway said council directed staff to bring it forward to a formal council meeting.